Silence Speaks Volumes
by NerdySkeleton
Summary: It's always the silent ones who have something to hide. . . Rated T, but later chapters will be marked M. Read and review if you please. Now complete!
1. Prologue

The figure with the plain, overused black cloak flew down from her perch in the snow covered pine tree. She subconsciously pulled her hood down lower over her face, as if the withering and dying plants were watching her. Her cloak whipped around her frail body in the cold winter wind, but still made no sound. Her feet made no sound in the dry and crunchy ice on the ground. They left no imprints in the snow, like she had never been there.

The lady was completely silent, as if a bubble was surrounding her and absorbing all the sounds around her. She looked up and watched as a faint, bright orange glow filled the night sky, illuminating it. Her head tilted slightly, and she stepped quicker and faster to the nearest tree. She reached the top in a few moments and stood up over the branches and leaves.

The bright orange glow got brighter and brighter, like more people were creating more fires. She dipped her head down low, and shook her body around, rustling the tree with its leaves.

And suddenly, the bright oranges and reds completely disappeared.

The lady kept her face plain and stoic underneath her hood. It was not something she could control, but it was something she tried countless times to. It was, as clichéd as it was, brought upon her by an unknown force. It pained her to see the grieving families and friends at the funerals. She remained in the trees to watch the innocent souls she was required to kill be lowered into the ground.

The cloaked woman took a deep, silent breath and hopped from branch to branch, until she reached the crunchy ground. She walked on quickly, preparing to dispose of the dead bodies. She arrived in a small clearing, with three people all lying close to each other. It was two men, with a woman beside them. The woman was dark haired and wearing black, while both the men were wearing hats and scarves up their faces. The woman and one man each had a gold wedding band on their fingers.

The dark lady grabbed the bodies and hurried through the forest. She walked on for ten miles, until she came to another small clearing. There was barely any snow in it, what with the trees covering the whole sky. There was a lone pink and orange flower, unlike anything the lady had ever seen, sitting squat in the middle. She rested the bodies down one by one, making sure the two people with the wedding bands were holding hands, and bent down to closely examine the flower.

She reached out a hand and touched one petal. The instant her skin made contact with the flower, it wilted and shriveled up, taking all its beauty and color away. The flower's petals melted to the ground, blending with the barren Earth.

She sighed and sat down to look at the three dead bodies.

Death, as painful as it was for everyone, was the only companion she had.

* * *

OOOOOooooh!

Tell me what you think! I won't upload a lot until my other story is done, but I've got a semi-good idea for this!


	2. Winter Assault

* * *

"Tell me why you dragged me out at 8:30 in the morning in the freezing cold?" Valkyrie Cain asked irritably. "It's January for God's sake. I should be in bed."

"Oh hush," Skulduggery Pleasant replied. "We're here because the Sanctuary called us. Grand Mage Cogent says they found some dead bodies."

"Ew. How long have they been there?"

"No one's sure. There are no signs of wounds."

"Poison?"

"It hasn't been tested yet. Someone is supposed to do that soon, but we need to take a look first."

"When were they found?" Valkyrie asked again, a few moments later.

"A day ago. They think they've been there for a week or so," Skulduggery said. He kept his eye sockets on the rocky woodlands, careful not to scratch the Bentley up. He sighed irritably and cut the engine off.

"There is no way in hell I'm going out in that cold. I'll freeze my ass off," Valkyrie stated. "You can't make me." She watched Skulduggery slide out of the Bentley and shut the door. He walked to the passenger side and wrenched open the door. His skeletal hand grabbed her forearm and pulled her out of the car.

"What about me not making you get out here?" he teased.

"Quiet you," she muttered and pulled her black coat in tighter around her body. They walked in silence, and Valkyrie stole a quick glance at the skeleton beside her. He had his regular disguise on. A red scarf around his jaw and neck, a pair of thick, black sunglasses, and a bright red wig under his gray hat.

Things were a bit confusing between them. They both admitted (or at least semi-admitted) the growing feelings they had for each other, but not much farther than that. Though there was this one time, when they were both completely alone in Gordon's house. Valkyrie had gone to taken a shower, and Skulduggery had of course ended up in her room, as he does most times. She had walked out of the bathroom, dripping wet, with a towel loosely draped around her body.

Valkyrie remembered the heat travel around her body, making her go red in embarrassment. But Skulduggery had just remained as silent and as impassive as ever. He stood up and had Valkyrie pushed up against a wall. Either he chose to not pay attention or he didn't notice her towel fall slightly, exposing her right breast. But he kept his eyes on her face the whole time.

The room was completely silent except for Valkyrie's breathing. She was leaning in closer to his face when they heard Tanith storm up the stairs. Skulduggery's head turned sharply and he hurried out of the room, with only a quick glance and what Valkyrie thought was a smile.

"Ah, Grand Mage," Skulduggery said, breaking Valkyrie from her thoughts. She looked up at the Grand Mage. She was a tall and skinny woman, with a loose, different colored dress for everyday. Her dark auburn hair was pulled into a very tight bun that sat on the back of her head. She looked to be in her fifties, though she was around four hundred years old. Sybil Cogent had sucked in cheeks and dark blue eyes, giving her a regal and commanding look.

She was much nicer to the partners than Guild was, but she was strict. Cogent didn't tolerate messing around. It was just work, work, work for her.

"Ah," she said slightly warmly, "there you are. We've been waiting for you. Follow me please." She gestured to Valkyrie and Skulduggery. They kept walking on a little bit, until they came to a little clearing. There was a large group of people all gathered to one corner of the clearing.

"Out of the way," Cogent commanded. "Let them through." The six or seven other detectives that were there all quickly stopped what they were doing and spread away from the bodies.

There were three people; two men and a woman. The woman was dressed in black and had dark, raven colored hair. The male who was holding her hand had mud colored hair and was dressed completely in green. The other man, was bald and dressed in gray.

"Names?" Skulduggery asked, automatically switching to his serious mode.

"The woman is Blossom Stately. Man next to her is Inferno Chill and the other man is Finis Strong," answered a detective to the side. "Chill and Stately are married."

"We gathered," Valkyrie muttered and bent down to examine the bodies. Chill and Stately were holding hands and did have wedding rings on. She noticed a few petals inside Chill's hand. She removed them and held them up.

"Where did you get those?" Skulduggery asked from beside her.

She shrugged. "I found them in Chill's hand." She handed the three petals to the skeleton and he examined them carefully before placing them back in the hand. He stood up and smoothed his long, tan overcoat out.

"Any ideas?" he quietly asked Valkyrie as she examined Finis.

"Necromancy? Poison?"

"Be sure to ask Wreath about this then," he added. "Maybe we could get Kenspeckle to take a look at them."

"Or at least the blood."

He nodded and headed towards the Grand Mage. He gestured back to the bodies and said something in a hushed tone. Cogent nodded and turned back to the detective she was talking to. Skulduggery walked back to Valkyrie and removed one vial.

"One vial won't hold all their blood," Valkyrie pointed out.

He nodded. "Which is why you're going to go back to the Bentley and get the red bag in the trunk," he said absently. Valkyrie groaned and stepped around the bodies and headed the way they had come from.

Skulduggery watched her walk away. Things weren't the same between them anymore. Not since he had caught her alone, with just a towel around her. How he just wanted to hug and hold her. It didn't matter if she was completely naked. All he wanted was just to be hers; and her be his. He didn't especially care about sex, but what guy didn't? Every man thought those types of thoughts at least a few times in their life. He didn't find it shameful that he found Valkyrie and her body completely attractive.

A detective nudged him, shaking his thoughts away from his confused mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Valkyrie popped open the trunk to the Bentley and pulled out a heavy red bag. It was made of velvet and there seemed to be glass inside of it from the clinking sounds it made. She slammed the trunk door closed and began the walk back to the clearing. She sighed inwardly and looked around the snow covered trees. She squinted her eyes as she saw a dark mass moving in between the trees and bushes.

Valkyrie remained as normal as ever, but still stood on her guard. If someone was following her, it could be the murderer back for more victims. And she did not want to die any day soon.

She stumbled slightly on a tree root and almost dropped the red bag. Valkyrie regained her balance quickly and adjusted the bag in her arms. She kept her head down low and focused on the sounds around her. The crunching of the snow, the whistling wind, to occasional bird chirping, and a squirrel running up a tree. Nothing out of the ordinary.

She walked a few more yards, until she suddenly stopped. There were footprints in the snow. She looked up and saw they went on for a while and into the more wooded part of the forest. Valkyrie slung the bag over her shoulder and followed the tracks, careful not to smudge them up as she had been taught.

The footprints carried on for a few hundred more yards. Valkyrie pulled her coat up tighter as she came to a dark, cold part of the forest. There were trees and bushes everywhere, and falling dead leaves crunched under Valkyrie's feet. She came to the final set of prints, and looked all around. She found no traces of people being there and no more prints.

Valkyrie looked up at a towering oak tree and searched the branches. She saw a few lone squirrels crawl across the thick branches, but nothing else. But suddenly, she saw a dark, black mass move. The mass jumped down from branch to branch and landed with a dainty _thump_ in front of Valkyrie. They had a huge, black cloak on with the hood pulled completely over their face. Valkyrie couldn't tell if it was even a real person.

They stood in silence, the cloaked figure staring at Valkyrie. Valkyrie staring at the cloaked figure. Valkyrie opened her mouth to say something, when the figure charged and rammed straight into her body. They both went flying into a tree trunk, breaking the glass and objects in the red bag. The black figure flung themselves away from Valkyrie and ran deep into the forest.

Valkyrie rubbed her aching head, but quickly followed her attacker. She yanked out the gun she carried in her coat and aimed it for the figure. She pulled the trigger and the bullet went whizzing straight into the person's right arm. They screamed a shrill, ear-piercing scream and ran even faster away from Valkyrie.

Valkyrie whipped around at the sound of footsteps crunching across the snow. Skulduggery and another detective were sprinting to get to her.

"Are you alright?" Skulduggery asked worriedly. "We heard a scream and a gunshot. What happened?"

"Well," Valkyrie said and rubbed her sore head, "this weird person in a giant cape attacked me and so I shot their arm. But they bashed my head into a tree." She turned and let the skeleton beside her examine her cut and bleeding head.

"It doesn't look too bad," he observed, "though Kenspeckle might have a fit."

Valkyrie smirked. "Definitely. He'll get really mad again." She laughed and put her gun away back in the breast pocket on the inside of her black coat. "Let's go. I want to get the blood sample back. Oh no!" She slapped her hand to her forehead.

"What?"

"That red bag! I had it and then he/she/it threw me up against that tree! The stuff in there broke!" She pointed frantically to the red velvet bag by the base of the tree.

"Oh," Skulduggery said simply. "I have more of those things back at the house." He nodded and grabbed the dirty bag. The other detective nodded and started heading back. The two partners followed right behind them.

A few moments later, Valkyrie felt something slip into her hand. She looked over as Skulduggery's hand intertwined with hers.

"Better this little bag then you, Valkyrie," he whispered in the cold winter air.

* * *

So.

This is my new story.

I definitely want it to be different. Like, less humor and fooling around. More dark…ness. Like death, gore,…sex. I have most of the story planned out. It won't be long, but who knows with me XD But there will be humor and stuff. It can't be an SP story without humor!

But for some important information on this:

-This takes place maybe 30 years after FO. It's a while into the future, that's for sure.

-Valkyrie's about 26 years old, but really around 60-70 (you do the math! I'm too lazy!)

-Her parents moved away because she faked her death. So…they're…in America or something. But point is, Valkyrie doesn't need to hide or anything.

-Will contain Fletcher/OC (mild), Ghastly/Tanith (that's such a requirement), and of course, Valkyrie/Skulduggery.

This may get pretty graphic at times. Not super sexual (I couldn't write that at all), but like gore and stuff. And it'll probably be pretty depressing. At least…that's how it is in my mind now. I may wake up tomorrow and decide to kill everyone off.

Oh, and there might be a truckload of OC's. Some of them not important, but others will play a bigger role. So…yeah. They won't be (overly) annoying or anything.

So, I hope you enjoyed this first part and thanks for reading! Sorry for mistakes!

:D


	3. Friends

You guys are the sweetest and nicest people ever. Just saying :3

* * *

"Detective. There's nothing in this vial other than plain, old blood. Type A to be exact," Kenspeckle gruffly explained and handed the vial of blood back to Skulduggery. "These people did not die of poison, just like the other six."

"It's just a precaution, Professor Grouse," Skulduggery answered brightly. "All nine of them might have nothing wrong with them, but you must never overlook details like this."

"Yes, yes," the professor grumbled back. "I understand. But just maybe, hurry up and solve this mystery because I'm running out of room in my morgue. I can only take fifteen, and we have ten now."

"Right. We're working on it. Don't worry!" Valkyrie called from her standing position by the door. "Are we still going to China's, Skulduggery?" she asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"Yes," he answered.

"But it's midnight!" Kenspeckle argued. "What is so important that you need to go see China Sorrows at midnight?"

"_Important_ things," Valkyrie smirked and disappeared from the door. Kenspeckle sighed and turned to leave, carrying two quarts of blood with him. He looked over his shoulder as Skulduggery stood awkwardly, hands in his pockets.

"Anything you need, detective?" he asked quietly.

The skeleton looked up. "Not especially," he tried in his normal bright tone. But it sounded sad. He shrugged and blew from the room. Professor Grouse gave the spot he previously was in a wary look. Something was up.

* * *

"What makes you think that my library is a twenty-four hour fast food drive thru?" China Sorrows demanded. "I don't care if you need a book that might contain information on saving the world from a horrible and painful ending. You do not come barging in here at 12:30 at night!"

"But you let Valkyrie in just fine! Why can't I come in?" Skulduggery whined. "Why are we any different?"

"Because she knocked quietly," China said simply. She sighed in irritation and stepped out of the way to let the skeleton detective through. Skulduggery stepped through the threshold rather hesitantly, but relaxed when he saw Valkyrie with a big, thick, leather bound book in her hands.

"How do I open it?" she asked sweetly. China made a symbol with her two fingers running across the air. Valkyrie nodded and placed the book on a nearby table. She knelt down and took her two index fingers and dragged them across two black, engraved lines in the book. The buckles on the side locking the book together instantly fell apart, and the cover flipped open.

"That's really awesome," she muttered and began paging through the crinkled, yellowed papers.

"What are you looking for again?" China asked sleepily, since they had woken her up.

"Dead people," Valkyrie responded.

China looked from her, to Skulduggery.

He shrugged. "People who died under the same circumstances as the recent ones. We'll leave soon, we promise," he said and crouched down next to Valkyrie. "Do you even know what you're supposed to be looking for?"

"Dead people," she said again. Skulduggery sighed and sat closer to her, so their arms were touching. He brought his hand to curl around hers and they flipped the next few pages over. All the while, China Sorrows stood over them in her lavender colored satin nightgown, watching them with a thin, black eyebrow raised.

"I don't mean to interrupt your precious moment," she huffed and watched Valkyrie blush and Skulduggery scoot away, "but I really am tired and I'd really appreciate it if you'd take the book and get out of here." She glared at them both, until Skulduggery reluctantly got up.

"Fine, fine," he said. "We'll bring the book back as soon as possible." Valkyrie shut it with a loud _thump_ and smiled at China, who smiled in return. Valkyrie headed out the door, giving a strange look towards Skulduggery. She smirked and disappeared through the cherry wood door.

Skulduggery stared at China.

China stared at Skulduggery.

"Well-"

"I should be going!" the skeleton said, cutting her off. "Really appreciate you letting us come in here. So bye!" He stood awkwardly for a few moments, then bolted out of the library. She rolled her eyes and shut the door and returned to her apartment atop the library.

China did not like the outlook of things right now.

* * *

Kane Sharp stood watching Valkyrie Cain busy herself around the most recent crime scene, a frozen pond in which four bodies were found. They had been found a few days ago. It was a whole family. Mother, father, and two sons. A whole magical family dead.

Kane Sharp was as green as envy. _He _was supposed to be Head Detective. Not that skeleton. And since he wasn't head, Kane had expected to at least be the 'second in command.' But no. That fell to Valkyrie Cain.

The amateur. The loud, obnoxious, idiotic amateur. She took his job from him, and that pissed him off.

"Detective Sharp?" came Valkyrie's voice over the winter wind. "I was wondering, do you want to take over for me here? I just remembered I have something really important to do. Would you mind terribly?"

Kane turned to look at her with his sharp, gray eyes. "Not at all," he said in his deep voice. "Get along then."

She smiled and nodded and gathered up a plastic container and a red bag. She trudged through the snow, and back to another clearing, where two more bodies were discovered. Skulduggery was waiting for her. He took the plastic container from her.

"Anything new?" he asked quietly.

"Nope," she answered. "Just the same old, same old. They're dead, and that's it. It's like someone is flicking an on/off switch for these people. Makes you wonder who's going to be next."

"Well I think you're on/off button broke. So far, you're completely death proof," he teased. "I wonder how I'll get rid of you now."

She punched his shoulder lightly. "First let's go pick up Tanith, then you can kill me," she said brightly.

"Sounds like a plan," he added and began walking towards the Bentley.

* * *

"Do you see her?" Valkyrie asked anxiously.

"No," Ghastly responded. "She'll get here soon."

Valkyrie crossed her arms. "I can't help it that I haven't seen my absolute best friend in two months!" She sighed and stepped up onto the plastic chair she was standing by.

"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery scolded. "Get down!"

"Oh you guys are party poopers. I know that I've always wanted to be searching for someone dramatically at an airport," she said and did a 360, looking for Tanith's blonde head.

"Valkyrie!" they heard a voice call out. Valkyrie turned and saw Tanith jumping up and down excitedly. She jumped off the chair and ran straight through the crowd of people in the airport. Tanith threw her bags down and raced towards Valkyrie. They collided in a mass of limbs, but still managed to remain upright. They ignored the passersby and began talking animatedly about anything and everything.

Ghastly grabbed the bags and followed the three out of the airport and into the chilly air.

"My God! Ireland's cold!" Tanith exclaimed loudly and tightened her jacket around herself. "No wonder everyone's dying!"

"If only it were as simple as that…" Valkyrie murmured.

Tanith chuckled. "Any leads?"

"No. Not one. No one has any idea about what's causing these random deaths. And it's seriously pissing me off," Valkyrie answered. "But when we find the killer, I'll make sure they get what they deserve."

* * *

They arrived back at Gordon's house at nine at night. It was beginning to snow again and the air was a good deal colder than before. Valkyrie unlocked the front door and let everyone else pass through. She was about to close the door when a foot appeared and stopped the door. The person had on dirty, beat up sneakers and tattered black jeans were visible. Valkyrie rose an eyebrow, but opened the door again.

"Fletcher," she grinned, "next time, let us know when you'll stop by again." He smiled and made to give Valkyrie a hug.

"Oh suddenly I'm completely loved?" he teased.

"No, I'm just in a good mood," Valkyrie said back. "Have you seen Misty yet?"

"No," he sighed, "but I'll go tomorrow. It's late and I didn't want to wake her."

Valkyrie smiled and walked to the kitchen, where everyone was. "You're such a sweet boyfriend," she gushed.

He rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. They reached the kitchen, and stopped to a standstill. Tanith, Ghastly, and Skulduggery were all standing still and staring straight ahead at the figure with the black cloak they had met earlier.

* * *

Sorry this chapter sort of sucks. I needed a filler type thing so I could bring some people in. Next chapter will be better cause it'll explain more about the chick who kills stuff. I'm actually excited to get it written up :D

Thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes!

Oh, and thank you all for reviewing. You just make my day! :DDD


	4. Maya and Nina

**Flaring rhythm: **Dude. No. This is totally, and 100% Valduggery. I gave Fletcher an OC girlfriend named Misty. He is her boyfriend. He didn't want to wake her up because it was late. _That's _why Valkyrie said that he was a good boyfriend. AND YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR STORIES DAMMIT.

Aaaanyways.

* * *

Valkyrie lunged forward and extended her hand to grab the cloaked person. The person dodged her hand and stomped up onto the counters. They stepped onto the top of the fridge and pulled their cloak up with them. Suddenly, both Skulduggery and Valkyrie had their guns pointed at the figure.

"Get down from the fridge or I shoot your arm again," Valkyrie commanded.

The person didn't move.

"On the count of three," Valkyrie said again. "One…two…three…" She sighed angrily and cocked her gun and aimed to shoot. The figure remained still, until they swung out of the way, and flew down to the floor, to land gracefully on their feet. Their cloak swayed until it stopped and hung loosely on the person's body.

"Any chance you'd tell us your name? Or what the hell you're doing here?" Skulduggery asked cheerfully.

The person remained silent.

"Well then," he said again and put away his gun, "this is rather awkward."

Valkyrie nodded an agreement. "Can you talk?"

The person stood still, but nodded their head once.

"Do you like to talk?"

They shook their head.

"Well we're going to get nowhere fast." Skulduggery sighed and sat down on the floor, and motioned for the person to join him. They hesitated, but gracefully sat on the kitchen floor. Valkyrie groaned and flopped down next to Skulduggery and watched the person warily.

"So," Tanith finally said after a few moments of silence, "who is this?"

"We're not really sure," Valkyrie answered. "They attacked me and then I shot them in the arm."

As if for proof, the person rolled their cloak sleeves up to reveal dried blood on their arm, with a heavy, white bandage around the forearm.

"Ahh," Tanith muttered and sat down with Valkyrie.

"Question, are you a girl?" Valkyrie asked. The person rolled their sleeve back down, and nodded their heavily cloaked head. "And why are you here?" They all heard the girl inhale sharply, but she said nothing.

"Could you write us the answers?" Ghastly attempted. The girl remained immobile, but nodded shortly. Valkyrie grinned and got up to get some paper and pen. She returned and handed it to the woman. She took the pen up and began to write. She didn't write much. She handed the pad of paper to Valkyrie, who read it aloud.

It said: _There is no reason that I am willing to release as of now. I am here to meet some of the mages. I know of you all, no need to be surprised._

"Well," Fletcher grinned, "that's convenient. You got a name?

_No_, she wrote.

"Can we give you a name?" he asked excitedly. She nodded curtly, and moved her head to Valkyrie's general direction, as if expecting something.

"A name? You want us to name you?" She nodded again. "Well okay then… Any suggestions, guys?" Valkyrie asked the group.

Tanith looked on at the girl. "If you showed us your face, maybe we could pick a better name for you," she grinned.

The girl remained quiet and still as a winter tree, but then slowly reached up and pulled her black hood down from her head. Everyone studied her carefully.

She was normal. She had bright blue eyes and short brown hair to the shoulders, with blonde streaks woven in it. She was incredibly pale, and her pink lips contrasted against her skin. She had freckles and a few moles and a small, intricately designed tattoo was placed on her right cheek. It was dark purple and swirled around, creating a vortex looking shape. Dots lined the outside and little crosses outlined the dots.

It was spectacular.

"Hazel?" Ghastly suggested.

"Cinderella?" Fletcher, obviously.

"Victoria?" Tanith said.

"I always liked Anna," Skulduggery mused.

"Alice!" Fletcher, again.

"Debbie." Ghastly.

"Jane."

"Susanna."

"Margaret?"

"Grace."

At the name, the girl violently shook her head. Her face, however, remained like a rock. No emotion passed over it.

"Okay, Grace is out," Valkyrie muttered.

"Snow White."

"Fletcher," Skulduggery growled, "we are not naming her after a Disney princess."

He smirked and shrugged.

"I always liked Isis." Tanith, naturally.

Valkyrie laughed. She pursed her lips and studied the girl in front of her. "You sort of look like a Maya to me."

"I think Ariel is better, personally," Fletcher smirked. He yelped in pain as Tanith whacked him over the head.

"I vote Anna or Maya. They're normal," Ghastly murmured.

"Anna or Maya, Tanith?" Valkyrie asked and turned to the blonde.

She placed a hand on her chin. "I say Maya, just because I like Valkyrie more than Skulduggery." She grinned and laughed as Skulduggery went limp and looked defeated.

"That is definitely not nice, Tanith," he grumbled. He faced Valkyrie. "Maya is fine with me."

"Ghastly? Fletcher?"

Both men nodded, though Fletcher looked a little put out.

"Hi Maya," Valkyrie grinned and held out her hand. The newly named Maya's face remained still and showed no emotion. She hesitantly stuck out her hand for Valkyrie to shake. Valkyrie took up her hand and smiled wider. "It's great to meet you."

Maya's head tilted slightly, like Skulduggery did. Her mouth twitched at the corners, but she didn't smile. But she was happy on the inside, where it really counted.

* * *

_Billy-Ray Sanguine marched up the stairs in the old, Victorian type house. His hand felt along the wall, feeling up the old and decaying wallpaper. He grimaced at the porcelain doll at the top of the stairs whose face had been shattered, leaving a broken and jagged neck. But he grinned when he came to a large, dried up blood splatter on the floor. He admired it for a few moments, as if it was a painting in an art museum._

"_Sanguine," came a soft voice from a room down the hallway. He righted himself, straightened his suit, fixed his shades, and removed his hat. The hitman-deluxe took a few hesitant steps forward, until the same voice called his name again, but it was more impatient and annoyed. He practically raced to the room at the end of the hallway. He pushed open the door and saw his mistress. _

_She was sitting precariously on her mother's old rocking chair, examining another old doll. This doll had blue yarn hair and big, brown eyes. She had pale skin and a pink sundress on. _

_Nina Minx smiled brightly up at Sanguine. "There you are. Ready to kill some more people? This one might require some more work." _

_He shrugged. "I can take 'em." _

_She nodded graciously and handed him a picture. It was fuzzy and one could barely make out the person standing in the background. It was dark as well, and there was no light source in the house at all. _

_Sanguine grinned and handed the picture back. "I'll definitely get rid of her for ya', ma'am. This will be easy." With that, he tipped his hat and disappeared through the floor. _

_Nina Minx grinned at the doll in her hands. She studied the picture closely, looking at the pretty face of twenty-six year old Valkyrie Cain. The skeleton was standing beside her, clearly annoyed at something the blonde teleporter had done. She swallowed and put the picture in her pant's pocket. Nina turned to the doll in her hands. She stroked her hair and rearranged her dress. Then, without warning, she threw the doll as hard as she could on the rotting, smelling, wooden floor. The porcelain doll shattered into hundreds of tiny little pieces, created a sea of splinters to erupt from the wooden floors. _

_Nina Minx pursed her lips and furrowed her brows together. "Thanks for the doll, mother," she said darkly.

* * *

_

WHAT? I like Sanguine! He gets to make another appearance, because he's that special. And plus I have this whole fight scene planned out between him and Valkyrie. It'll be neat.

So, I apologize for this chapter's boringness. Its kind of retarded and nothing really happened. But it's required to get the story going again. The next bits will be cool…I think. Maybe next chapter will be M…for violence and gore though. The sex is…later.

Um. Yeah. Bye.


	5. More

Valkyrie Cain strode swiftly down the hallway in Gordon's mansion. Though she had long since obtained ownership of the house, she would always consider it Gordon's. She stopped and smiled as a wispy figure appeared in front of her.

"Hello there, Valkyrie," Gordon grinned. "Anywhere to be today?"

She smiled at the Echo Stone image of her dead uncle. "Actually, yes. We need to investigate a few more murders." She thought of the case report Grand Mage Cogent had given her, and the smile instantly dropped. "It's so weird. So many people have died. And there's no way to tell _how_ they did die. Kenspeckle can't figure anything out."

"A necromancer? That's how I died," Gordon suggested. "If there are no marks, that could be it."

"True, we've thought of that. But when we asked Wreath to check it out, he found no traces of the magic anywhere. He even asked me, but I didn't really do anything."

"Valkyrie." His face was serious. "You know that it's fine. No one judges you."

"Skulduggery does…" she grumbled.

The ghost liked image of her uncle sighed. "No, he doesn't," he said. "It's obvious that he's not mad at you for stopping your elemental training for a bit in favor of necromancer. He was mad at first, when you were fourteen, but now he's fine with it. Trust me."

"You're dead, how much trust can I put in you?"

He rolled his eyes. "You are a grown woman. And whether or not that man cares what type of magic you do is no one's business but his. Don't listen to his whining and bitchiness. And you, Wreath, and him made a deal right? After a few decades, you'd switch out? Skulduggery said that the magic would stick with you."

"Yeah, yeah," Valkyrie grumbled. "I just hate that they refuse to get along."

"Since when has Skulduggery gotten along with any necromancer?"

Valkyrie smirked. "Ever since I came waltzing in."

"True, true," Gordon smirked as well and gave her a pointed look, then disappeared before she could 'slap' his face. Valkyrie sighed in frustration and swiftly turned around. She immediately collided with Maya.

"Oh Maya!" she said hurriedly. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you. Or hear you for that matter. You must be great at scaring people." She held out a hand to help Maya up, but she got up on her own. Her hood had come loose, so she pulled it farther up, so Valkyrie couldn't see her face.

"Everything alright?" Valkyrie asked as they headed downstairs to meet Skulduggery.

Maya simply nodded her cloaked head. She gestured silently and soundlessly for Valkyrie to go ahead of her. She descended the stairs and found Skulduggery waiting on the bottom step, playing with his hat. Valkyrie crept behind him and snatched it from his hands.

"Not cool, Valkyrie," he grumbled. She smiled and placed the black and white fedora on her head and grabbed her coat from the banister, then beckoned for Maya to come. The girl moved her head slightly, then pointed a shaky finger at herself.

Valkyrie nodded. "Yeah. Want to see some dead people?" Under her hood, Maya tried to remain emotionless. But she couldn't help but grimace as the three clambered into Skulduggery's beautiful Bentley. She sighed inwardly and tightened her cloak around herself.

* * *

"Who's that?" Valkyrie pointed professionally at a dead woman.

"Brooke Play. Age: 94. Magic: Adept; read minds," Kane Sharp answered. "She was found at 16:34 yesterday. That girl over there believes she was killed about a week ago. No signs of wounds and the girl has found no traces of poison."

Valkyrie nodded and shuffled over to the pale man laying beside Brooke Play. "Und wer ist das?" She pointed to the man.

Kane Sharp pursed his lips. "Seymour Luck. Age: 588. Magic: Elemental. He was found at around 19:54 yesterday. The same girl thinks he died the same way as the woman; a mystery. There are no signs of wounds nor traces of poison. A surprise indeed." He suddenly noticed the cloaked figure beside Valkyrie. "Who's that?" he sneered and pointed towards Maya.

"Maya," Valkyrie answered shortly. "She won't cause any trouble, so relax and don't get your panties in a twist." She grinned at Maya and wandered off to 'that girl.'

"Hey Misty." Valkyrie smiled at the girl. Misty Fine was around 29 years old and had curly, short, blond hair and brown eyes. She was skinny, but always wore a white lab coat, since she was Kenspeckle's assistant.

Oh, and she was Fletcher's girlfriend.

"Hey Valkyrie!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around Valkyrie. "How are you? You haven't broken anything or almost gotten killed lately! We miss you!" She grinned widely, showing her pearly white teeth. Her gaze shifted over to Maya. "Fletcher told me about you. He said you're name was Jasmine?"

Valkyrie groaned. "No," she said, "this is Maya. She's like the little lost puppy we took in." Maya nodded once and remained perfectly still. "She doesn't like to talk. Ever."

Maya nodded again.

"Well," Misty said brightly, "hopefully you'll stick around a while longer, Maya. Maybe you'll grow comfortable with us and start talking."

"Ms. Fine!" Kane Sharp called loudly. "We found something." Misty rushed over to another dead body. A man by the name of Petulant Taunt. He was older than most mages, and was an elemental. A detective pointed to his pale, bare chest. There was an almost unnoticeable scar right at his lungs. It was a bright pink, and it had some dried blood around it. There were a few more lacerations surrounding the cut, and they seemed to form a patter.

Valkyrie hovered her fingers over the cuts and scrapes, and watched as her black necromancy shadows flowed from the ring on her finger and onto the body. The shadows floated down gently, and attached themselves to the scars. They formed a small circle around the scars, and soon the shadows sunk into the ice cold skin, and they turned it gray. Valkyrie contracted her fingers and the shadows came seeping back out of the man's body. She remained still for a moment, then stood up.

"It's just a regular scar. Nothing out of the ordinary," she announced and stepped out of the way to let Misty look. She bent down over the body and poked at his flesh a few times, then pulled out a cell phone. She dialed a few buttons, then immediately started arguing with the person on the other end.

"Tell Kenspeckle I say hi," Valkyrie smiled, then wandered off to Skulduggery, Maya following on her heels.

Valkyrie found Skulduggery a few yards away, looking closely at a dead tree.

"It's the people we care about, not the plants," she teased and rested her arm on his shoulder casually.

He took his gaze from the tree and looked at her. "No duh," he replied sarcastically. "I'm just wondering why this one tree is dead, and the rest are all alive."

"Trees die all the time. Maybe this one had cancer," Valkyrie suggested casually. Skulduggery didn't answer. "Why are you so worked up about a damn tree?"

"Because!" Skulduggery answered gruffly, this time turning to face her.

"Is 'because' seriously your answer?" Valkyrie snorted. "I'd expect a better answer from you!" She glared slightly and took a step closer to him. The skeleton stood up to his full height (all 6' 1") and closed up the gap between him and Valkyrie. Valkyrie straightened herself up to her respectful 5' 9" and opened her mouth to say something when Kane Sharp called her over. She nodded at Sharp, then turned back to Skulduggery. She grinned and sauntered away, leaving him stunned.

* * *

_"I need her dead, Sanguine," Nina Minx commanded sternly. "I don't care what it takes, but you must kill Valkyrie Cain."_

"_I know, ma'am," Sanguine grinned, "but my master plan will take some time to be completed. I know exactly when I want to get her and how. She won't be with anyone else, that's for sure." _

_Nina Minx pursed her lips. "I hope you're willing to bet your ass on that. I need her dead and I need the creepy girl with the black cape. Kill Valkyrie, get the other girl." _

_Sanguine nodded slightly, then paused, and frowned. "You never mentioned anythin' about another girl!" he shouted. _

"_Well," Nina Minx smirked, "now I have."

* * *

_

The body fell to the ground. Maya breathed in deeply, then rearranged them to look like they were sleeping. The least she would do was make them comfortable, she thought. Her cloaked face suddenly snapped up and turned to the east, towards the rising sun. Valkyrie would be up soon and would be looking for her most likely. She placed her hand on her cheek and felt her burning mark. It seared into her flesh when she killed someone. It would never leave her, not until the day she died.

* * *

I know this still sucks, and I know that I said that it'd get better, but it hasn't. Sorry about that. I took a long time to get this up and I'm sorry for that too. Cross-country and homework has been _killer _lately. I got shin splints (it feels like someone stabbed my right shin and then shot it a few times) from running, so that sorta sucks. We had a meet a few days ago, and I came in last, but at least I finished. That's the only thing I care about. Finishing.

Aaanyways.

I have every single chapter planned out until the VERY END. Chapter 5 will most like be just as boring as these last few, but it will involve some Valduggery. And as for Val and Skul's heights, I just guessed. They're both tall, right? Meh.

Well, thanks for reading and thank you all so much for leaving such awesome reviews! :DD Sorry for mistakes!


	6. Clues and Plans

OKAY. SERIOUS DARK DEPRESSING MODE NOW.

OH! And also, everyone should go over sometime and read 'Witnesses' by **The** **Fox of Deceit**_**. **_It's, like, the greatest thing ever. _Seriously_. You _need _to read this.

Just as a heads up, this _will _contain Valduggery (not super heavy, not super light) and it will contain just about nothing else. Just people talking about dead people. THRILLING.

* * *

"I don't like dead people," Valkyrie announced abruptly in the silence of Gordon's home. Her and her friends had gathered there on a snowy, blistery night. Fletcher and Misty were sitting back to back by the fireplace, Tanith and Ghastly were both sipping hot chocolate, Maya was sitting, staring blankly ahead with her hood down, and Skulduggery sat reading a case file from a few years ago.

"I take offense to that Valkyrie," he replied casually, taking his eyes off the official papers to look at her.

She smirked. "I don't like having to examine all these dead people who keep turning up, dummy." She sighed and stood up. Suddenly, her cell phone started to ring. She groaned and stomped away to answer it. Maya watched her carefully as she paced around the room.

"It's freezing out there!" she exclaimed loudly. "I've been with you and your little detective posse the whole day. Why can't you just do it?" She stopped and listened to the other end. "Well he hates Skulduggery and that never stops him from going to say howdy." Again, another pause. She groaned as well. "Alright fine. But don't expect me to be all happy and cheerful with you tomorrow."

She pushed the 'End Call' button forcefully and chucked her phone into the couch and flopped down next to it.

"So," Skulduggery said quietly after a few moments of peaceful silence, "what was that about?"

"Sharp wants me to go 'examine and contribute to the cause of death' to some recent bodies they found. So, I need to go to Kenspeckle's in –9685 degree weather. I am pissed." Valkyrie growled and stood up and grabbed her coat from the floor. Skulduggery stood with her.

"I think I'll come and say 'howdy,'" he said and used air quotes. "I'm sure the Professor misses me." Valkyrie grinned and said goodbye to everyone, then swept out of the doorway, followed by Skulduggery.

* * *

**Kane Sharp dug his cell phone from his pants pocket. He pressed the 'Answer' button and brought it to his ear.**

"**Kane Sharp," he answered deeply and dully. Someone was just breathing on the other end, making the whole call very cliché. "I don't have time for this," Sharp grumbled. "Goodbye." He was about to end the call, when a voice called out. **

"**Wait!" the person said. It was male. "I've got some crucial info for ya'," the man said. "It involves that pretty li'l Valkyrie Cain and that weird chick who keeps followin' her. With the cape." **

"**Maya?" Sharp wasn't sure what to make of this man. On one hand, he was mad that he was taking up his time and his accent made it hard for him to understand. The other hand however, he could contain information to crush Valkyrie Cain, something he had wanted to do for a while. And the other girl just made him uneasy. **

"**Sure, yeah, whatever," the caller answered. "The girl's got a creepy secret. It gives even **_**me **_**chills. And that Valkyrie doesn't really deserve **_**your **_**spot, does she?" **

**Kane Sharp opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He looked across the way and saw the other detectives hard at work, pouring over books and manila folders containing hopefully crucial information. He wandered casually to the corner of the room and brought his voice down to a whisper. **

"**What do you have for me?" **

"'**Necrosis,'" the man simply said, and hung up. **

**Kane Sharp ended the call and placed his phone back in his pocket and wandered back to the group of detectives. He was asked almost a hundred questions at a time. But two things were on his mind. What 'Necrosis' was and getting rid of Valkyrie Cain.

* * *

**

"I will not go in there and you can't make me. Ever," Valkyrie said defiantly. She looked at the double doors leading to Kenspeckle's lab. "That place is absolutely freezing. Your whole lab is freezing!" She pointed dramatically at Kenspeckle, who rolled his eyes and stepped through to his morgue. He returned a few moments later with a rolling gurney, with a young woman with a towel draped over her waist and chest. Valkyrie grimaced and helped Kenspeckle push the gurney towards the main lab room.

They turned on the bright lights and Valkyrie released her shadows into the person's body. She watched as their skin turned from pale white, to light gray, then dark gray, then complete black. She contracted her hand slowly and the black began to dissolve away from the head, the chest, the stomach, the waist, the legs, and then the feet. She frowned, then turned to face Kenspeckle.

"Something is different about her, but I can't tell what's wrong," she said. "It feels weird. I don't like it."

"Maybe because of this," the professor said grimly and pointed slowly at the woman's neck. Valkyrie stepped around the gurney and examined the skin more closely. There were stitches running from one ear to the other.

"What in the world is this?" Valkyrie asked.

Kenspeckle shrugged. "We don't know. I have some tests going on now, but they don't look promising. Oh," he said grimly again, "and look at this."

He moved her head to the side and lifted her hair up. There was a small bald spot, where he had obviously shaved off the hair. On the skin there were a few small incisions.

"And what the heck is that?" Valkyrie bent down to peer at the marks closer. Kenspeckle reached into his lab coat pocket and produced a picture. It was a photo of the skin, enlarged a few times, to reveal what the incisions made.

**B-R. S.**

"That bastard…" she breathed and stared at the photo. "Has he been doing this!?"

The professor shrugged again. "We're not sure. There's no poison, no radiation, wounds, or anything. What could he be doing?"

"What about those stitches? Maybe he did something to her brain!"

"I checked already. It's not possible he could have done something without making a huge mess about her head. He'd have to pull the skin up and remove the hair and do all sorts of nasty things. It's not possible."

Valkyrie sighed angrily. "Fine then. Maybe they all just dropped dead. Maybe someone has these special powers that can just kill people."

"Like necromancy?" a dark, deep voice asked. Valkyrie cringed slightly.

"Wreath," Valkyrie said and turned and greeted her mentor. "You should stop popping up unexpectedly. It's not very nice."

"Pleasant does it all the time," he replied casually and twirled his cane through the air. "What's with the dead woman?"

"She died, we don't know how, and we found the initials 'B-R.S.' on her neck, meaning Sanguine was here. Now this mystery reeks of cowboys and oil rigs."

"Good to know then," Kenspeckle muttered and left the two.

"How have you been doing Valkyrie? Training hurt you yet?" Wreath asked solemnly.

Valkyrie shrugged. "It's not bad. I haven't had time to really focus on it, but hopefully I'll find time. It hasn't hurt yet, no. My neck is still intact."

She fiddled with the pitch black necklace draped across her pale neck. Skulduggery had given it to her only a few short months after he had returned from being trapped with the Faceless Ones. Since Valkyrie had just taken up Wreath's proposition, and she had broken the original object for her necromancy powers, she used the necklace. Of course, she asked Skulduggery. He gave her a wary and awkward look, but simply nodded, and that was that. She used it everyday for her training, until one day, it hurt her.

She was just doing some normal training, just trying to blast some targets. But as she was concentrating, it burnt her skin. There was still a little black mark where it rested on her neck all day and night long. It burned her skin and she wasn't able to control her powers, which resulted in the targets getting completely obliterated. Wreath got a piece of wood shrapnel stuck in his arm because the targets went flying everywhere.

Valkyrie sighed and shook her head. "It's late, I'm going home," she announced.

"But I only just got here!" another, smoother, less deep voice said from the far end of the room. Skulduggery Pleasant strode through the doors quickly and quietly. He nodded once at Wreath, who nodded back.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Well _excuse_ me, princess. I'm tired and need a shower. Let's go."

"What about the multiple bodies?"

"I'll tell you about them later."

Skulduggery sighed and shrugged and followed Valkyrie out the door. Solomon Wreath remained grounded in his spot. He sighed angrily, then disappeared in the midst of his shadows.

* * *

"So…" Skulduggery began, "Sanguine has been doing this?"

"That's what it seems like right now."

"But you only found his initials on one body. And why the hell would he carve his initials into the body in the first place? Wouldn't he want to remain hidden and not under your radar? He is dumb, but not that dumb."

"I guess…" Valkyrie muttered. "But I wouldn't put it past him to do something this weird and frankly, creative."

"You never know what to expect with Sanguine," Skulduggery said. Valkyrie nodded in agreement. She looked over at him and smiled. Valkyrie looked away to blush, and noticed they were close to Gordon's house. They turned a corner, drove onwards a few more miles, and then turned into the driveway. Skulduggery cut the engine, and they both stepped out of the car.

"My God," Valkyrie half-whined, "I'm so tired."

Skulduggery chuckled. He watched as she began to walk the small pathway to the front door, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand. He turned her into his body gracefully, until their faces were only a few inches apart. He curled his fingers around hers and brought his other hand to the small of her back.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked cautiously, trying (and failing) to not blush madly. Skulduggery merely tilted his head, and Valkyrie could tell he'd be grinning madly about now.

"Nothing much," replied, taking the hand holding her hand and stroking it down from her neck and down to her cleavage, where he pulled her shirt down lower. Valkyrie sighed deeply and shivered from the developing goose bumps.

"Wait, wait," she whispered desperately. Skulduggery immediately stopped. "Don't do that again. Too soon…"

She smiled sadly and unwound herself from Skulduggery's grip, leaving him standing sad and still. He shook his skull and rushed up to her and grabbed her arm again.

"Um." Suddenly all his suave-ness and confidence was gone. "Sorry about that. I'm not really sure what came over me…" He trailed off and looked into Valkyrie's eyes.

She bit her lip and smiled. She shrugged. "Maybe give me a heads up next time," she said and stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. She blushed again and pushed open the door. The house was quiet. Suddenly, Fletcher came tearing through the kitchen and skidded to a halt in front of Valkyrie.

He grinned. "How was it?"

"Just puppies and rainbows, Fletcher," Valkyrie responded sarcastically. "It was a dead woman. How happy and cheerful could it be?"

He shrugged and waltzed back into the kitchen.

"Well," Valkyrie sighed and stretched, "I need a shower. Then I need sleep." She gave Skulduggery one last fleeting look, then rushed up the stairs to her bathroom. Skulduggery wanted into the kitchen, where Fletcher was standing with a smug look upon his face and his arms crossed.

"What's that look for?"

"Oh nothing," he grinned, "I just like how you don't know about a little thing called 'windows.'"

Skulduggery tilted his head. "Excuse me?"

"I totally saw you feel up Valkyrie," Fletcher said loudly. He grinned wider as Skulduggery's body went rigid and his fists clenched.

"Don't say a word, you hear? And for the record, I was not _feeling her up_."

Fletcher shrugged. "Believe what you want, Skulduggery. But I believe that-" He stopped suddenly when he saw a dark figure wander into the kitchen slowly. Maya pulled her hood down from her face and looked at the men. Her head tilted like Skulduggery's as she watched the two shuffle around nervously. She shook her head and shrugged, then waltzed out of the room. Skulduggery sighed and left Fletcher to smile smugly at his newly discovered secret.

* * *

_Billy-Ray Sanguine sat on a stone wall not far from the Sanctuary building. He grinned as he saw a sleek black Coupe pull up and park beside the sidewalk of the old wax museum. A man, wearing a dark blue suit stepped gracefully out of the driver side, and he paused to look for any passersby. He shrugged and headed on into the museum. _

_Sanguine took the opportunity and whipped out his phone and dialed a number. The same man answered after a few rings. _

"_You again?" Kane Sharp asked just as dully. _

"_Righties, sir!" Sanguine said cheerfully. "Just wanted to ask you about Valkyrie Cain. Does she have any funny new weaknesses I should know about?" _

_Kane Sharp paused. "How the hell should I know? I don't like her, so I don't take the liberty and find out what makes her tick and what makes her tock." _

"_Well." Sanguine's voice dropped its cheery mask and turned into something awful and deep. "I suggest you find out exactly what it is that makes her work. Ya'll find out this information, and I'll call ya' again soon. I hope ya'll won't mind that you're working with a known and widely feared criminal, if I do say so myself." He grinned into the phone. _

"_I figured it out, Billy-Ray Sanguine," Sharp breathed quietly. "And when I finally get rid of the creeper girl and Cain, I'll come after you and kill you. No one will ever know what went on with us, alright?" _

"_Goodness! It's not a secret love affair!" _

"_I swear on my life, Sanguine. You'll be dead when Valkyrie Cain is dead. Mark my words." _

"_Lovely talkin' with ya, Mr. Sharp." _

_Sanguine shut off his phone and smiled. He loved his job.

* * *

_

I'm actually alright with this chapter. It doesn't SUCK immensely like I thought it would. But it's still not my best. The next few chapters will have some cool-ass action in it, trust me.

So, sorry I haven't really updated anything in forever. Sorta. I've just had a BUTT-LOAD of homework lately, and my creative fountain is kinda dry. I haven't had a lot of good ideas lately. BUT BUT BUT.

CROSS-COUNTRY IS OVER YA'LL!

I'm so happy. It was sorta fun, but good Lord it hurt. I'll hopefully have time to do some more writing, but probs not a lot this weekend. A friend's party, then shopping for a ton of crap, and working on this dumb periodic table poster, I dunno when I'll get to write.

Well, now that you know basically my whole life schedule from now till I die, I sincerely hope you liked this chapter and sorry for mistakes! :D


	7. Short Investigation

This past week just sucked major balls.

Just wanted to let ya'll know.

* * *

A red 1950 Chrysler Imperial pulled up smoothly to the curb and man stepped out of the car. He had a green suit on, that was made of strong fabric, like the man himself.

Mr. Bliss nodded swiftly when the door to Gordon's mansion opened. Valkyrie stepped out, grimaced, and shut the door forcefully.

"What time is it?" she grumbled and marched straight past Bliss.

He checked his gold watch. "8:24," he said in his deep voice.

Valkyrie groaned loudly and cracked her knuckles and kept walking to the car. She stopped suddenly. "Why does everyone have a really old car now?"

"You should be talking," he mumbled. "Your car is from 1970."

She shrugged and examined the car. "What is it?"

"A Chrysler Imperial. Like the Bentley, only much better," Bliss answered.

Valkyrie grinned. "I'm going to tell Skulduggery you said that. He's going to be so pissed." Bliss chuckled slightly, then stepped and opened the door for Valkyrie. She slipped into the car gracefully, and he shut the door. He walked to the driver's side and climbed into his seat. He revved up the quiet engine and pulled away.

"Details," he said seriously, reaching into his coat pocket and producing a folder. "Five more dead; two females; three males. One of them is non-magical. They're all under the same circumstances as the others. No marks or anything on them. We still don't know what's wrong. No signs of entry wounds, no blood, just death."

Valkyrie took the folder and flipped through it, frowning at the pictures of the dead. "This sucks," she announced.

"It does," Bliss agreed. "Oh," he said suddenly, "I almost forgot. This was found hanging on a branch a few yards away from the dead." He pulled a small plastic bag with a small piece of black fabric in it. "No DNA on it at all. Not a trace."

Valkyrie opened the bag and examined the fabric. It looked familiar to her, but she couldn't figure out where she had seen it.

Suddenly, her phone beeped loudly a few times. She dug her cell from her jeans pocket and flipped it open, pressed a few buttons, then closed it again. It beeped again. She grumbled and nodded to herself. She put it away, until it started making a different noise. It rang the loudest and most obnoxious ringtone possible.

"Skulduggery," she answered, trying not to smirk, "I said go away. It's 8:30 in the morning and I'm not ready to argue yet. I need my energy." She listened to what he said on the other end, grumbled something, and then hung up. "He needs a hobby, other than harassing me."

"But he loves you," Bliss said quietly, half a joke, half seriousness.

Valkyrie caught on and gave a small laugh. "I guess," she sighed and turned to look out the window. She saw little kids out already, hurling snowballs at each other and trying to build snowmen. It had snowed a lot recently, giving the kids a few days off from school. She grinned.

"Valkyrie?" Bliss said, interrupting her thoughts. "We're going to have to walk from here on out. It's too slippery and the snow is piled up too high for the car to get through."

She shrugged and stepped out of the car. She almost dove back in from the cold. But she gritted her teeth, wrapped her coat around her, and trudged through the sludge and ice with Mr. Bliss.

They arrived a few moments later at the scene of the crimes. Two other people were there; Grand Mage Cogent and Kane Sharp. He snarled at the sight of the two, but instantly smiled when Cogent glared at him.

"Mr. Bliss and Valkyrie, thank goodness," she said warmly and shook their hands. "We've got a few things to get done today. Valkyrie, you have the supplies?" Valkyrie nodded slowly and reached into her coat pocket and produced seven syringes, seven little vials, nine cotton balls, and a little bag of ice.

Sybil Cogent point to a body with a sheet covering them. "Start with her then."

Valkyrie sat down cross-legged by the covered body. She lifted the blue sheet covering them and grimaced. The woman looked shocked. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide. Valkyrie solemnly reached a hand out and gingerly brushed her eyelids close. Valkyrie took a deep breath and grabbed the ice bag. She reached out and pressed it against the woman's neck. The ice turned a green color, then faded to yellow. She muttered something to herself and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. She scribbled something down.

Valkyrie took a cotton ball and wiped down the woman's neck. The skin turned a deep red. She wrote that down and took a syringe. Valkyrie pushed it into the woman's neck and injected her with a golden, thick liquid. Valkyrie stepped back as the veins in the body pushed towards the surface, looking as if she was to burst. She crouched down to one vein near the collar bones and watched it carefully.

It puffed out, then detracted, and then puffed back up again. She readied the same syringe and jammed it into the vein. It instantly burst and blood and blue goop oozed out from it. Valkyrie looked at it intently, then deposited it into a vial, closed it, then moved onto the next person.

She repeated the same process on the remaining four, and got the same results. These people shouldn't have died.

Valkyrie groaned and stood up slowly, rubbing her knee. She looked around and found a few sets of prints. She could tell it was the grand mage, Bliss, and Sharp's prints.

"Thanks guys," she grumbled and covered the bodies back up. She turned and saw her supplies were gone. "What the hell?" She kicked a rock, but stopped.

There were cracks in the snow.

She bent down to look at them closer. She scooped up the white powder and threw it to the side. Sure enough, there were cracks on the cold, hard dirt. She snarled and jumped up, and began running. She skidded to a halt at a set of footprints. Valkyrie studied them intently, and decided they did not belong to her friends, or Sharp, for that matter. She ran a hand through her hand and sighed loudly.

"Come out, come out, come out wherever you are…" she whispered in the wind. Valkyrie looked to her right and to her left, but was suddenly attacked from behind. An arm came around her neck and squeezed tightly, and a leg knocked her off her feet. She fell on her knees and the person keeping her captive fell as well, gripping her neck tighter.

Valkyrie sniffed the air. It smelled of grease, sweat, and bad cologne.

"Billy-Ray Sanguine," she choked out, "great to see you again. Or smell you, really."

"Shaddap!" he snapped. "I don't wanna hear ya speak. Got it?"

"Crystal," she choked again.

Sanguine released his grip on her neck, but kept a hand on her shoulder. "So, what's been going on?" he asked casually.

"Well we've been investigating all these murders lately. These your doing?"

"Just a few," he smiled wistfully. "Well, sorry we don't really have a lot of time to talk, but I have some business to attend to." He kicked her in the back, and Valkyrie went sprawling forward. She groaned and picked herself back up. She turned and face Sanguine, who was waiting, razor at the ready.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way," he grinned. "I always wanted to kill ya with Mr. Funny-Bones watching. I wanted to see his face as he saw all your blood _pour _from your wounds…Sorry, silly fantasy a' mine." He tossed the straight razor from one hand to other. "Bye-bye Valkyrie!"

And he advanced at her.

* * *

CLIFFHANGER.

Like, really. This is the end. I'm sorry, but the next chapter will be purely fighting and blood. _That's it_. I will get working on it really soon, I promise. This does truly _suck _and I'm sorry for that. I've been sorta depressed. BUT I WILL MAKE UP FOR IT. It should all pick up soon...I hope. But I'm super excited for the end. I can't wait to get that writing.

Sorry for mistakes! :D


	8. Fatal Fight On the Ice

Umm. Yuuup.

So, we're learning about the Civil War in my American History class, and it's totally awesome. This chapter makes me think of the Confederates (Sanguine) vs. the Union (Valkyrie, because I'm from the North).

I dunno why I just told ya'll that, but whatever.

Aaaand I think I may have to take a hiatus from this. Like I'll get to chapter 10 and see if my life still sorta sucks (sorry I sound really bad and dramatic). I dunno. But, depressed state aside, here's this!

* * *

Billy-Ray Sanguine slammed into Valkyrie and she went flew back a few yards and landed hard on her back. She kicked her leg up and nailed Sanguine in the gut. He gasped for air and then stomped on Valkyrie's hand. She growled in pain and jumped up quickly, before catching a glimpse of him disappearing through the ground.

She groaned. "Come out and fight me, Sanguine," she shouted. "I seriously don't have time for this." She took a deep breath and eased her muscles and concentrated on her powers. Valkyrie could feel herself gathering the remnants of death that were hanging in the air from the dead bodies. Her necklace pulsed with black power, but she suddenly went sprawling forward. Her concentration broke and she shook her head before hearing the sound of Sanguine's razor swiping through the air. She rolled out of the way, but felt a shooting pain up in her arm. Sanguine lodged his razor deep into Valkyrie's right arm, and she screamed.

"Music to my ears," he grinned and pulled the knife out slowly, making her squirm and scream again. She brought her leg up and rammed her knee right into his crotch. His face twisted up into pain, and he rolled away. He staggered away and disappeared through the ground.

Valkyrie swayed up and checked her arm. She cursed herself for not wearing her protective coat. She touched at the flesh and tried not to scream again. She shook her head and advanced forward, through trees and over a large dirt spot. There were sets of cracks all around the center.

Valkyrie stood still and listened carefully. She heard the ground open up slowly and swung out her elbow and stomped down her foot. She heard the crunch of Sanguine's face and the sound of leather boots hitting beat up sneakers. Valkyrie smirked and rammed her other elbow into his side. He staggered away, but regained himself and charged straight for Valkyrie. She spun around, but was flipped upside down and she landed on her backside. She groaned in pain and sat up on her elbows, but Sanguine stomped his foot down on her back.

"Give up," he hissed in her ear. "Just stop."

"When hell freezes over," she responded and got into a push up position and bumped Sanguine off her back. He flew through the air and landed on his butt. Valkyrie lifted herself up, swung around and dropped and straddled his waist.

"Leave me the hell alone," she growled.

He smirked. "I will when you're dead."

"Well, then," she said with fake-sweetness, "that'll be a while. You've failed eight other times to kill me. What makes you think you'll be able to get me now?"

"This," he smiled evilly and reached a hand up and grabbed her throat. She choked out something, then tried concentrating on her shadows. They swirled around her neck and they shot out and sliced at his face. They cut his sunglasses in half, making them fall off his nose, revealing the coal black pits he used for eyes. The sharp shadows cut at his lip, his cheek, his neck, his forehead; everywhere. Blood oozed out slowly and cascaded down his face.

But he just laughed and stomped down on Valkyrie's legs and grabbed her stabbed arm and squeezed hard. She screamed loudly and dropped to her knees, panting. She heard the straight-razor slice through the air and come down closer to her body. Valkyrie took a deep breath and sprinted away, tripping over branches and rocks. She heard Sanguine swear loudly and curse her and then run after her.

Valkyrie skidded to a halt at a frozen river. She looked back at Sanguine, who was still charging towards her. She wiped the blood from her arm and face and took a careful step onto the ice. It seemed sturdy enough, but not enough for two, fully-grown adults. She slipped out to the opposite edge and waited for Sanguine. He stopped suddenly at the edge and smiled.

"Whoever falls in first loses," he said over the winter wind.

"Fine," Valkyrie called back. Sanguine nodded and stepped onto the ice, trying not to wince as it cracked under his weight. But he brushed the snow out of his hair and wiped the blood from his face and smiled sickly at Valkyrie.

"May the best man/woman win," he said and skated up to her. He thrust his fist out and tried a punch, but Valkyrie ducked out of the way and kicked his shin. He hissed in pain and punched her sliced arm, causing blood to spurt out. Valkyrie saw black spots in her eyes and tried shaking her head to rid herself of the dizziness. She groaned in pain and felt a fist connect with her face. She felt her cheek bone shatter and she felt the skin break and bleed. She stepped back and slipped on the ice slightly, moving back a few yards.

Valkyrie beckoned him forward with a wave of her hand, and he obliged. Valkyrie concentrated and grinned as black tendrils slithered out and wrapped around Sanguine's legs. They flipped him up in the air and he landed with a _thump _on the fragile ice. Cracks spread out like spider webs around the two. The ice crackled and some came loose, causing water to burst through, causing bigger cracks. Sanguine bared his teeth and got out his razor and slid up to Valkyrie. He crashed into her, making sure his razor cut into another part of her arm. It cut her coat fabric, but didn't leave a scratch. He frowned and maneuvered himself around her. He reached and pulled the collar of her coat up and he ripped it off her body and threw it into the air. She instantly began shivering and tried ducking out of the way, but Sanguine beat her.

Sanguine jammed his straight-razor into Valkyrie's body right below her collarbones. Blood poured out from the sides and went down her shirt. Valkyrie's necklace broke and it slipped off her neck and onto the ice.

But she didn't notice.

Valkyrie Cain clutched at the knife sticking out of her chest and collapsed down onto her knees. Sanguine caught her and dragged her up to the river bank. He made sure to lodge the weapon in deeper and jam it from side to side, increasing the damage and Valkyrie's wheezing breaths.

"I win," he breathed into her ear and ripped the knife from her chest, making her let out a strangled sob. He stood over her and watched her lift a shaky hand to her chest and place it on the blood. She lifted her hand to her face and saw the blood drip down to her shirt. Her lip quivered and her head lolled to the side.

Sanguine bent down and watched her breathing slow down greatly. He shrugged. "Sorry," he said, "I'd stay and watch you die, but I have a few things to attend to. Good riddance."

He gave a salute and disappeared through the ground, leaving Valkyrie Cain to herself.

* * *

Mr. Bliss came to a stand still. He frowned at the dead bodies still on the ground. He frowned further when he saw no sign of Valkyrie. He heard footsteps come up to him. He turned and saw it was Kane Sharp.

"Do you know where Valkyrie went?" he asked quietly.

Kane Sharp shrugged. "Haven't a guess, Mr. Bliss. I'd stay and help, but I have important things to attend to."

He nodded to him and turned on his heel and almost ran out of there. He climbed over the branches and rocks to his silver Mercedes-Benz. He stumbled into the driver's seat and started the car, trying his best to ignore the man next to him.

"What did I do wrong?" Sanguine asked loudly. "I killed her, as directed! Don't give me the cold shoulder."

Kane Sharp began driving. "I don't want anything to do with you until they pronounce her dead. You're sure she's dead?"

"As sure as my momma," he smirked and opened the passenger side door. "Well, so long, Mr. Sharp. I hope I'll kill more people for you later." He hopped out and instantly sunk into the ground. Sharp accelerated the gas pedal and sped off, desperate to get away from this place.

Mr. Bliss dialed the number on his phone. The person on the other line answered after two rings.

"Dear brother," China Sorrows said sweetly, "what is it?"

"I think Valkyrie may be dead," he said, skipping straight to the point. Bliss was a direct man.

There was a pause on the other line. "What makes you say that, Mr. Bliss?"

"I can't find her anywhere and I'm finding just footprints. But these look too big to be hers, so I think someone stole her."

"Is Valkyrie a priceless painting in an art museum? If so, I suggest you get a map."

"China," Bliss growled, "now is not the time."

"I understand brother. Call Skulduggery now and tell him about it. You can search together."

Bliss nodded. "Will you send out help?"

"Call me after a while if you still can't find her. I'm sure my men can help in ways you couldn't."

"Thank you, China," he said softly, sincerely.

Bliss could hear the smile in her voice. "Anytime, dear brother."

He ended the call and pushed another few buttons. Skulduggery picked up after three rings.

"Yes, Bliss?" He sounded worried. "Weren't you supposed to get Valkyrie back a few hours ago?"

He nodded into the phone. "Yes," he said, "but that's going to be a bit complicated. I think Valkyrie may have been taken by someone. I can't find her anywhere and I see big footprints. They aren't in the shape of her shoe at all."

A pause.

"I'll be there."

He hung up with a click. Mr. Bliss sighed and barreled on through the winter wind.

* * *

A few hundred yards from where Mr. Bliss stood worrying, a woman lay, bleeding. Valkyrie Cain was still clutching her chest tightly, willing the blood to stop flowing. By now, the first few stages of hypothermia had set in and were not helping her at all. She thought of what she had said to Sanguine. It seems he had _finally _beaten her. He had caught her, and stabbed her. She was going to die.

It was the ugly truth, and that nearly killed Valkyrie. But she clung onto her life for as long as possible.

Her friends and family went through her eyes. She would miss Tanith, Ghastly, Fletcher, Bliss, China, everyone. Poor Kenspeckle too. She'd miss the Grand Mage, who actually liked her. Valkyrie admitted quietly to herself, she'd even miss Sharp. But she would miss her parents. She had lived so long without them. But if only she could have just _told _them about her double life. Everything would be fine. Valkyrie sighed inwardly.

But, the one person she would miss the most would be Skulduggery. She wouldn't get to tell him everything that she always wanted to. She'd never ask those random questions, like if he liked apples or bananas; or what his favorite color was; or if he really _liked _her. That crushed Valkyrie. She'd never know how he felt. He'd never know how she felt.

Valkyrie Cain examined her bloody hand one last time. She wheezed in and out, then finally, let her hand fall down. Her body went slack and her head fell to the side, never to move again.

* * *


	9. Inner Thoughts

Hehe I love you guys.

* * *

Skulduggery looked up at the trees towering above him. He watched Maya hop from branch to branch, then taking a few moments to rest.

Or so he thought.

Maya looked down at Skulduggery on the ground. She would see him look up and watch her occasionally. She bent down and jumped up high and landed in a crouch position on a branch. She paused and took a deep, deep breath.

A scent.

Maya sniffed the air a few more times. Yes, she could sense there was death in the air. It burned her nose and gave her a tingling feeling in her tattoo. She quickly jumped from the branch she was on and landed right in front of Skulduggery. He jumped back in surprise and tilted his head in confusion.

"What is it?"

Maya paused and thought about how to get her point across. She held out her finger and pointed behind her.

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery asked, hope in his voice.

Maya nodded. She took off in a sprint and hopped up into a tree and began running from branch to branch. She glanced down and jumped, and saw Skulduggery sprinting the same way she was going.

But suddenly, a thought occurred to Maya.

She could sense the death. But did that necessarily mean that is was Valkyrie? Maya had hopes that she was alive. She had hopes that they were at least find her body. She had hopes for hope.

Maya looked up at the sky as she hopped from branch to branch and noticed little snowflakes dropping down. They landed on her cloak, but she ignored them. She focused on the scent and picked up her speed.

* * *

The snow was falling much heavier now. Mr. Bliss brushed the snow from atop his head and returned to the task of trudging through the snow. He watched one of China's men comb the area ahead of him, then move on and look through another bank of snow. He suddenly stood up.

"Mr. Bliss!" he called, somewhat excitedly. Bliss sped over there and peered down a little hole made in the snow. He saw blotches of red.

"Blood?"

"Looks that way, sir."

Bliss frowned. "Let's move then." He looked both ways, then turned and marched west. The man followed closely behind, peering around at everything, leaving no tree uninvestigated, and no stone unturned.

Suddenly, they stopped. They both sniffed the air and smelled a rusty, iron residue in the air. The man stooped down and dug around in the snow. He found a large, crimson stained patch of snow.

"This doesn't look good," the man muttered and stood up. Bliss shook his head and dug out his ringing mobile phone.

"Anything?" Skulduggery immediately asked.

Bliss shook his head no. "We found some blood. Anything for you?"

"Maya thinks she knows where Valkyrie is, but we doesn't seem to sure. We were running, but now she's just walking through the trees."

He nodded. "Let me know of anything else."

"Right." Skulduggery hung up with a click. Mr. Bliss shook his head of the snow again, and walked on. He came to a frozen river bank and stopped. Half of the ice was cracked down past further than their eyes could see and there were places where the water shot up high and flowed down through the cracks again.

"Split up," Bliss announced. "You take the right, and I'll take the left."

The other man nodded and trudged off towards the north, while Bliss headed down south.

* * *

The snow was falling, heavier still. It fell fast and buried anything and everything. The snow fell continuously on a mound by the river bank, caking the mound in cold chunks. It fell accordingly, and landed on just the right spot.

The mound moved, and the surface broke when an ice cold, pale hand popped up. It hovered there, shaking for a moment, then slapped the top part of the mound.

And suddenly, Valkyrie Cain popped up from the ground.

She shook her head, but immediately remembered something.

Wasn't she dead? Unless this is what death was like, which didn't seem very plausible. Unless she was a ghost, forever trapped in the spot where she died. But that didn't seem very plausible to Valkyrie either. But then again, she thought, never put it past the magical world to have ghosts running about.

She brought a shaky hand to her head and scratched it. Snow fell down and landed on the imprint her body had left on the ground. Valkyrie felt her hand and shivered from the cold. She knew she _would _permanently die (unless she was dead) if she didn't get something warm on soon. She tried clicking her fingers, but she was too weak to get a spark from her magic.

She shivered violently again and tried to warm herself. But a shooting pain in her chest and right arm prevented her. She looked closely and noticed that the whole in her chest had stopped bleeding. But from the movement, it had begun again. It pumped out slowly, but became faster and faster, until it dripped down her body and to the ground. She placed a cold hand and let the blood flow to her hand.

Valkyrie removed her hand and screamed as loud as she could. It came out as a strangled wheeze, and she realized the wound must have damaged her vocal chords and her throat. She tried to yell again, but it only hurt her more. She finally gave up and fell down onto the ground.

She could tell the stages of hypothermia were setting in, and she wouldn't be able to live longer. But she had prepared herself to die, so why not just do it again?

She closed her eyes and shut off her mind as best as she could. She relaxed her muscles and let her breathing go shallow. She had died once, so couldn't it happen again? She'd seen on the news that people would die, then miraculously come back alive a few hours later. Had that been her case?

No, she thought. She was probably dead, and wouldn't be able to see anyone again. But oh well. At least she had lived a good life. Right?

Her breathing became shorter and she felt her heart slow down, but then she heard something. She heard snow crunching. She heard a shout, then the crunching got louder and fast.

Maybe it was God. Or maybe it was the Devil. She heard someone repeat the same phrase over and over again, "God, don't be dead, don't be dead."

Well, it probably wasn't God then. Valkyrie had always joked she would be going to Hell. She suddenly felt cold, but much warmer than her temperature hands grab her shoulders and shake her. She tried not to wince. Couldn't the Devil just let her be? Let her die and let her go to whatever ring of hell Dante had reserved for her?

Then, she felt herself being lifted in the air. She felt the warm arms around her bloody and broken body. Then she felt air. The air whizzed past her and she heard the crunching in the snow again. It took whoever was carrying her a few moments to stop somewhere. The person grunted and she heard a loud click. Then she felt soft, cushions beneath her body. There was a deafening roaring sound, and a sense of movement took over.

A few moments of silence, then she heard a voice. Valkyrie knew that she had heard the voice before, but couldn't place where. They said a few distant words, then a beep.

Then, she heard her name.

"Hang on there, Valkyrie," they said. She nodded in her head and let everything go black.

* * *

Distant voices woke Valkyrie up again. They were familiar, and she vaguely made out the faces they belonged too, but she was too weak. Someone grabbed her body and hoisted her off of the cushions. They carried her somewhere, and she could hear a fluttering sound, like fabric. She felt a hand press down on her wound, and she squirmed. Someone said something, and she was shifted around. She felt something soft under her, and let her head loll to the side on the soft cloud.

She heard someone bark an order, then she felt something even softer and much warmer over her body. She felt a hand slip to her chest and they applied as much pressure as they could.

Valkyrie thrashed around, throwing a tantrum from the pain. The same person barked something else. She felt the hand disappear. Then she felt a small pain in her arm.

And then she felt nothing.

* * *

Maya hopped again from another branch, and stopped to breath. She sniffed around the air for a scent, but couldn't find it anymore. What had happened? Had she somehow gotten off track and it was too far away? Or was it simply because whatever was dead, was alive again?

She sighed in frustration, and took a running leap and landed a few feet from Skulduggery. He stopped abruptly to stare at her.

"What is it? Change of direction?" he asked, worriedly.

Maya shook her head. She lifted her hood down, and kept her face emotionless. But her eyes told the story. She looked from the skeleton and to the ground, and noticed how much snow had fallen. Maybe the scent had been covered.

"Maya," Skulduggery's voice cut through her thoughts, "do you know where Valkyrie is?"

She placed her hood atop her head again, and shook it. She was afraid he'd go into a fit of rage, but he remained still.

"Let's go home then," he whispered and turned sharply and began running the opposite way. Maya winced and took a run, leaped, and ran through the trees. She jumped and landed on the ground, and then jumped back up on the opposite line of trees. She glanced down at the ground and to the east, and noticed a frozen river. She kept running, but stopped suddenly. She flew down from the trees and grabbed Skulduggery by the collar. She dragged him to the spot and pointed through her cloak.

On the ground, was a spot of red. Skulduggery bent down and examined it, dragged his fingers through it, and finally stood up.

"Maya, don't stop again. We're going home," he grumbled, but something caught his eye. His head turned sharply and he stepped onto the slippery river. He bent down and picked up the object. He recognized it as the necklace Valkyrie used. He clenched it into his fist and sighed deeply. He felt Maya's cold hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. He put the necklace into his pocket, nodded once, and then took off running again. Maya remained at a stand still, staring at the blood.

She didn't know why she was so upset, she realized as she was up in the trees. She just was. Maybe because she actually liked Valkyrie. No one had really cared about her with that tattoo. But Valkyrie was just fine with it. Valkyrie was nice, though Skulduggery insisted that she was a horrible woman and was never nice to him. Then Fletcher would joke and say no one was ever nice to him. But she would notice Valkyrie going over and hugging Skulduggery from behind. They'd all laugh as she'd steal his hat and go running off with it. But Maya knew there was more than _just _friendship with them. How they were going to admit it, well, it seems they wouldn't. Valkyrie was dead, and she wasn't going to come back.

So Maya allowed herself to cry for the first time in centuries.

* * *

Did you really think I would kill of Valkyrie!? I kill her off all the time, and I always bring her back.

Well, anyways, filler chapter, but it was necessary. I sorta like it, but whatevs. Tell me what you think! :D

And I apologize for any mistakes!


	10. Good Talks

Lalalalala new chapter…

I can't wait till I get to write chapter 11. It's going to be _so _much fun and it's all plot-twisty…

AND DUDE. 50 reviews!! Are you kidding me? Thank you guys so much! Ya'll make me feel so *~loved~*

* * *

_Inhale_

_Exhale_

_Inhale_

_Wheeze_

_Inhale_

_Exhale_

Misty Fine looked up and watched an unconscious Valkyrie. She watched the IV hooked into her arm pump the medicine in slowly. She watched her chest slowly rise. Misty rose from the chair she was in and examined Valkyrie.

Mr. Bliss noticed her and walked over to the two. "Is she alright?"

"She's still having trouble breathing, but she seems pretty good. Let me ask Kenspeckle," she said and whipped out of the room. Mr. Bliss stepped up to Valkyrie and stared at the gaping hole in her chest. It was pink and tender and there was still dried blood around it. He looked over at her arm with another hole in it. He knew these scars would never disappear from her body.

He paused and listened to her breathing.

_Inhale_

_Wheeze_

_Wheeze_

_Exhale  
_

"Is something wrong with her?" Kenspeckle asked gruffly coming into the room. "She looks like she did when I last left her. What's so important?"

"She looks better," Misty replied.

"I suppose," he muttered and poked at her skin. "Still pretty damn cold, though. Can you bring me some bandages and tape, Misty?"

She nodded and headed to some cabinets from across the room. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Mr. Bliss.

"Has anyone told Skulduggery yet?" he asked hesitantly.

Kenspeckle grunted. "I thought you had, Mr. Bliss," he replied and began bandaged Valkyrie's chest wound with the supplies. Misty shook her head no. "Damn," he muttered and swiftly ran from the room. He yanked out his cell phone and dialed the number.

Skulduggery answered on the last ring. "Yes Bliss?" He sounded tired and sad.

"I found Valkyrie," he said.

Skulduggery sighed in relief. "You did?"

"Yes, a few hours ago. I forgot to call. She was so close to death when I did get to her."

"Well is she alright _now_?" he growled.

Bliss nodded. "She's alive, but her breathing is off."

"Is she awake?"

"No-"

"-Yes," Kenspeckle's voice interrupted him. "She's awake now."

"Professor Grouse says she is now," Bliss replied.

Another sigh of relief. "I'll be there soon," he said and hung up quickly. Mr. Bliss chuckled and turned and followed the professor back into the lab room. Misty was standing by Valkyrie's bedside, administering some more medicine.

"Valkyrie," Kenspeckle said slightly worriedly, "do you know who I am?"

"Santa?" she replied sarcastically, but happily. "I'm not dead, Kenspeckle."

"You did die though."

"I'm indestructible, though," she smiled and turned to Bliss. "You found me, right?"

He nodded slowly.

She grinned. "Thank you, Bliss," she said and winced as Misty poked at her arm.

"Well I was the one who lost you, so I took it upon myself to find you. And plus, anyone would go looking for someone in the 30 degree weather."

"Well," Valkyrie growled, "Sanguine attacked me. He stole the testing supplies I had, then lured me out to the forest." She paused and touched at her neck.

"Where's my necklace?"

"What necklace?"

"My necklace! For my necromancy…" She groaned and rubbed her head. "Shit, shit, shit," she muttered and sank back into the pillows. "Wreath _and _Skulduggery are going to kill me."

Kenspeckle rolled his eyes and turned away to a cabinet. He turned back and was holding a bottle of clear liquid. He passed it Misty, who removed the bandages on Valkyrie's chest and dabbed the liquid on the wound. It smelled of alcohol and made Valkyrie gag.

"Let that sit there and try not to move too much," Misty instructed her. Valkyrie nodded and stared up at the ceiling. She tried to ignore the doors leading the main lab being thrown open. She automatically knew who it was anyway. The doors leading into the lab she was in burst open, and Valkyrie mentally counted three people. She felt a thin hand grasp hers.

"Are you alright?" Skulduggery asked worriedly.

"Misty told me not to move. But I'm feeling pretty good," she replied and glanced to her side. Skulduggery was taking off his sunglasses and hat and had placed them on the bed.

"I was so worried," he muttered and clutched her hand tighter. "Don't do that again."

"Hey it wasn't my fault!" she joked. "I wasn't the one who attacked me. Blame Sanguine."

"If I ever see him again…I'll kill him."

"Can I do that, though? I'm rather pissed off at him now."

Skulduggery chuckled and nodded. "Sure," he whispered and rubbed his bony thumb on Valkyrie's hand. Valkyrie could hear the two other people exit the room, but she had a feeling someone else was watching them.

"Who else is in here?" she asked hesitantly. Valkyrie felt a tap on her shoulder and glanced to her side. A dark figure was standing like a statue beside her.

"Maya," Valkyrie grinned. Maya let her hood down and glanced at Valkyrie. She looked alright. She wanted to ask her what happened, but couldn't. Not then. Maybe not ever.

"Maya," Misty called from the lab, "could you come here for a moment?" Maya nodded once and glided from the room, her cloak billowing behind her.

"Maya's strange," Skulduggery muttered. "Something is definitely wrong with her."

"What was your first clue?" Valkyrie teased. "Of course something is wrong. But you're a skeleton, so I don't lose any sleep over it."

Skulduggery tilted his head. "I can't believe I missed your annoying sass backs," he murmured and rubbed her hand more. "Thank God Bliss found you."

Valkyrie smiled shyly. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Oh!" she shouted. "Skulduggery, do you like apples or bananas?"

He paused and looked taken aback. "I guess I like apples more…"

"Favorite color?" Valkyrie asked quickly.

"Royal purple," he replied. He leaned in closer. "Are you okay?"

"I just remembered I was thinking about how I never knew the answers when I was dying. So I wanted to ask you them before I die again."

"Ah," he muttered and chuckled. "Valkyrie, you're strange."

She grinned. "I'm aware." She glanced down at their hands. "Um," she whispered, "there was actually another question I wanted to ask…"

"Yes?" He seemed incredibly eager for her to ask it.

"Do…do…do you _like _me?" She immediately turned away, afraid of his answer. She felt his hands leave her, but felt them reach to her face and pull to back to face him.

"In an attempt to sound extra rehearsed," he said, "I've loved you for so long. I began to question if it made sense. Ever since that night when your parents moved, and you stayed at your old house, I knew that I wanted to be with you for forever in case something like that ever happened."

Valkyrie blinked. "Wow," she muttered, "that _did _sound rehearsed." She shrugged and smiled. "But it's nice to hear that."

"Anytime," he breathed and leaned in carefully. He caressed her cheek and kissed her lips softly. Suddenly, someone tapped Valkyrie's foot. She shrieked and pushed Skulduggery away. They looked up at Maya, who was glancing between the two. She pointed at Skulduggery, and then pointed at the lab doors. He nodded, and caressed Valkyrie's hand again.

He left the room quickly, leaving Maya and Valkyrie alone.

Valkyrie shifted around, trying to think about what to say. "I don't think you'd tell anyone about that. But if you decide to talk, please don't say anything," she said hopefully.

Maya took a deep breath and scratched at her arm. She knew that it would be now or never.

She took another breath. "Of course I won't," she whispered.

Valkyrie smiled. "Good." She winced at her aching arm, but suddenly whipped around to stare at Maya. Her mouth was hanging open in shock. "D-Did you just speak?" she shrieked.

Maya nodded, then stopped. "I did," she said, louder and more confident this time.

"I thought you had something wrong with your voice!" Valkyrie continued to shriek. "I thought something was horribly wrong!"

Maya shrugged. "No, there's nothing wrong with my voice. Not that I can tell."

Valkyrie shook her head in astonishment. "Wow," she whispered and suddenly smiled. "Well, I'm sure everyone would like to hear your story."

"No!" Maya shouted. "I refuse to speak to anyone but you," she said firmly. "Only in dire situations."

"Oh, okay, sorry then," Valkyrie muttered and smiled. "Take your time."

Maya resisted the urge to smile. She heard footsteps approaching, and quickly put her hood back up. Mr. Bliss and Skulduggery burst through the door. Kenspeckle was grumbled behind them, carrying a clipboard. Misty followed in and went over to the IV machine beside Valkyrie.

"Time to go to sleep," she grinned and pushed a few buttons. Valkyrie instantly felt drowsy, and she drifted off, slipping into sleep.

* * *

**Warnings: ****Lots of gore and blood. This next section is hereby rated M. Proceed with gross caution.  
**

"_You're absolutely sure?" Nina Minx growled to Sanguine. _

_He nodded. "I pretty much watched her die," he grinned. "It was a good feeling." _

"_You 'pretty much?'" she growled louder this time. "What does that mean?" _

"_Well," he stepped back, and he accidentally stepped into the puddle of blood, "I stabbed her and laid her down, and I had to go to talk to that weirdo detective guy. I didn't get to see her _actually _die, ma'am, but I'm positive she did die." _

_Nina Minx hissed something, then bent down and picked up the body of a young man, in his early thirties. _

"_Help me," she said and climbed up onto a stool. "Hand me four nails," she commanded him. Sanguine nodded and reached into his coat pocket, revealing four rusty nails. He handed them to Nina Minx. "Get another stool and hold him while I do the legs." _

_The Texan nodded and fetched the remaining wooden stool. He stood on top of it and held onto the shoulders of the man. He watched with delight as Nina Minx hammered the nails into the man's legs with her bare hand. The rusty nails pierced his jeans and went through his calf. Blood seeped out through the hole in his leg and stained his jeans. She repeated the process on the other leg. She hopped from the stool to admire her handiwork. _

_She motioned for Sanguine to move. He did so, and he handed six nails up to Nina Minx. She hammered three nails into his chest; making the yellow shirt he wore stain with blood. Two nails went into his empty eye sockets, as they had removed his eyes earlier. Blood poured down onto the rotten floor boards of the Victorian house. _

"_Razor," she held out her hand, and Sanguine placed his precious straight-razor into her palm. She watched the blood fly up and she licked her lips in anticipation. In one easy, quick, fast swipe, she had sliced the man's neck open. Blood oozed in a downpour and it splattered both of their clothes and bodies. She reached up to his cheeks and made an X formation on each side. She went to his forehead and made a cross. _

"_May God protect you," she laughed manically and stepped down. She tossed the razor to Sanguine from behind and walked through the cascade of blood. _

"_Alright, let's go tip off Mr. Sharp," she grinned and waltzed through the front door, her clothes spattered with blood. She took a wary glance back at the dead man hanging from the ceiling, and grinned.

* * *

_

So yeah. Too heavy? I tried to not make it bad. Yeah, this chapter was exceedingly boring, BUT we have a talking Maya know, which is cool. And we have a love-struck Skulduggery and an alive Valkyrie :D

Kay, thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes! :)


	11. A Few Complications

Valkyrie eased herself out of the bed. She grinned when her arm didn't sting her, and her chest wound didn't hurt her. She grabbed her clothes from the foot of the bed and yanked them on. She winced slightly from her arm wound and the pain it gave off. She adjusted her shirt and yanked on her pants.

Valkyrie heard the lab doors creak open. Tanith poked her head in.

"You alright?" she asked. Her, Ghastly, and Fletcher came as soon as they heard she was hurt. They arrived within a minute after Skulduggery had called them. Literally.

"Yeah, my arm just hurts a little," Valkyrie responded and tried shrugging into her black coat. Tanith strode across the room to her and helped her put the jacket on.

"Next time I see Sanguine," Tanith growled, "I'll be sure to kick him in the face."

Valkyrie laughed. "Well thanks, Tanith. That will be fun to watch," she said and stood up shakily from the bed. Tanith helped her out the lab doors, where Skulduggery and Kenspeckle were waiting for her. Skulduggery smiled, while Kenspeckle was frowning.

"Scare me like that again," Kenspeckle grumbled, "and you'll never see the light of day."

Valkyrie grinned. "Alright, alright," she said. She punched him lightly. She looked up at Skulduggery, who looked to be smiling.

"Take care of her, Pleasant," they heard Kenspeckle mumbled again, then quickly left through the lab doors. Tanith giggled and led the way down the hallway.

"Where's Maya?" Valkyrie asked softly.

Skulduggery shrugged. "She _motioned _that she was going to leave for a little bit. I couldn't get an answer as to where she was going," he said and slipped his hand into hers.

Valkyrie blushed and grinned slightly. "Hopefully she'll be back soon."

"Why do you care so much?"

"I actually have compassion for people, unlike you," she responded, smirking.

He sighed. "That's not what I meant," he muttered. "But, in all seriousness, you haven't known her that long. Why are you so concerned?"

"I honesty don't know," Valkyrie said and sighed. "She just seems like someone who needs a lot of help and a friend. And there's something about her, I don't know what, but it just gives me a sense that she's hiding something."

"I know what you mean," Skulduggery nodded, "I noticed something when I first met her."

"Oh _sure, _smarty-pants." Valkyrie smiled and punched his arm playfully.

"I did!" he protested. "It gave me a strange feeling. It still hasn't really gone away."

Valkyrie shrugged. "You must be more open, Skulduggery Pleasant! Open your heart!" He chuckled and pulled her closer to him, and he let her lean against his arm.

* * *

Maya jumped from a tree and landed in front of a small family. They all screamed incredibly loud and high, which made this all the more harder. She looked at the two parents, just the average man and woman. They had three children, two girls and one boy. They looked all around the same age, early teens. Maya instantly knew one of the girls was magical.

"Are you an elemental?" Maya asked the girl.

She looked taken aback. "Y-yes," she muttered and looked away. Maya nodded once, and stood staring at the family. They looked innocent. Just about everyone she killed was innocent. These kids who had barely begun to live….

She shrugged and looked at them all in turn. "Please don't hate me," she said softly. The wind rustled their clothes and her cloak, and the family flopped down instantly.

And they were dead.

* * *

"I didn't find out what happened to you until at least a _two_ _days _after!" Gordon shouted at Valkyrie. "No one bothered to call me!"

"Gordon," she sighed, "you can't pick up anything."

"Yes, but couldn't someone have left me a message? I had been sitting up all day and night, waiting for some word!" He turned sharply to Skulduggery. "Why did you not tell me?"

"Because when I finally heard, I rushed over there and I didn't have time to tell you. I didn't have time to call you," Skulduggery explained. "I didn't think of you. I was too concerned about Valkyrie."

Gordon huffed. "Because she almost got herself killed again!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Valkyrie protested. "I didn't know Sanguine was around here!"

Gordon shrugged. "Alright, alright," he sighed. "Don't do it again."

Valkyrie smiled and nodded happily. Gordon rolled his transparent eyes and disappeared slowly. Skulduggery chuckled, and then noticed his phone was buzzing from the table. He yanked it from Valkyrie's hands and quickly answered.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Pleasant," came Kane Sharp's dull tone on the other end, "I understand this is a hard time for you, but there have been more bodies discovered."

"A hard time? What do you mean?" Skulduggery asked, confused.

He heard Sharp sigh. "Valkyrie's death!" he said exasperatedly.

"Valkyrie's most certainly not dead," Skulduggery replied, turning to her. "She's right in front of me, laughing, grinning, breathing. She is not dead. What gave you the idea she was dead?"

He hesitated. "I had heard from China Sorrows that something had happened. She sounded rather grim about the whole thing," he explained. "But if everything is all sorted out, you must get down here. More bodies were discovered. It's urgent."

Skulduggery nodded. "We'll be on our way." Skulduggery shut his phone quickly, and he gestured at Valkyrie. "More dead bodies. It's important."

She nodded. "Naturally." She exited the house quickly, followed by Skulduggery.

They arrived in the Bentley at the scene of the crime about half an hour later. It was an incredibly cold January morning, and still, the sun was shining brightly. Everyone had sunglasses on. Sybil Cogent strode up to greet them. She smiled warmly at Valkyrie.

"I'm so glad you're well again," she said. "I don't think the Sanctuary would be the same without you!"

Valkyrie shrugged. "You would all miss my eccentric personality, no?"

"We would indeed," she replied, patting her shoulder. "Sharp!" she suddenly barked. Kane Sharp immediately came rushing over.

"What can I do?" he asked, a little frightened. He took one look at Valkyrie and immediately started sweating. His hands were shaking, his muscles were tense, his jaw was set, and he couldn't look anyone in the eye.

"Take them to the bodies. They need a run-through of the information. I expect them to be fully informed and know what do, understand?"

Sharp nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said and saluted her. He motioned for Skulduggery and Valkyrie to follow. He briskly led the way to a heavily forested part of the woods. There were five bodies: three women and two men. One woman looked to be the mother, one man was the father, and the remaining three were the children.

"Anything on them yet?" Skulduggery asked in all seriousness.

Sharp nodded again. "This is essentially, a non-magical family. Only one of the daughters, her right there," he paused and pointed to the female, "is magical. We're pretty sure she's an elemental. The rest of her family is plain. No magic in them at all."

"But that doesn't make sense at all," Valkyrie muttered. She bent down to examine them more closely. She peered at the father. His eyes were wide open in shock, with his mouth slightly agape. The same went for the mother.

Their children had their eyes closed, but there mouths hung open as well. The magical female looked the most shocked.

Valkyrie shook her head. "No one has discovered a pattern yet?"

"Well, most of the people dead have been magical, until these. It seems it's just random," a detective explained. "We think the next victims will be regular civilians."

Valkyrie sighed and nodded. She looked across the way and met Skulduggery's eye sockets. She could see that he was trying not to grin a little, but she could see how grim he was.

They both knew this case needed to be solved faster, which seemed near impossible.

* * *

_Up in the tallest tree, on the highest branch sat a man. This man had a brown suit on, the color of dirt. He heard his cell-phone ring, and he quickly answered it. _

"_There is a major problem," Kane Sharp said quickly on the other end. _

"_Hold yer' horses," Sanguine exclaimed. "Ain't you going to say hello first?" _

"_No." _

"_Ouch. That's cold." _

"_Shut up, Sanguine," Sharp growled. "We don't have time for this. Don't try and play games with me here. Valkyrie's alive." _

_Billy-Ray snorted loudly. "That's ridiculous. There ain't no way she's alive. I killed her." _

"_Well rethink your career choice as a hitman. It didn't work. She's alive and working and here, yards away from me. This needs to be fixed, do you understand? This will not work." _

_Sanguine sighed. "Awight, awight, I'll get rid of her. Just give me time. My mistress wants me to report back soon." _

_Sharp huffed on the end of the line and hung up quickly. Sanguine pondered what to do next. He jumped from the tree branch and landed on the ground perfectly. He hid behind the tree trunk and saw that Sharp spoke truth. _

_Valkyrie Cain was indeed very much alive. Sanguine was not impressed. He knew Nina Minx wouldn't be either.

* * *

_

Meh. My inspiration ran away. I lost it all. I've got some back, but I've recently discovered I write a hell of a lot better late at night, than in the day time.

I apologize for the crap that is this chapter, BUT, next chapter will be fun. I am 97% sure.

Sorry for mistakes! :D


	12. A Confession

I hope I can make this chapter as awesome as I've been saying it will be. HOPE AND PRAY CHILDREN.

….I'm so incredibly pumped for this chapter.

And!! From the 26 – 29 I'll be gone to my grandparents for Thanksgiving. So there will be no story, nor reviews, nor replies to PMs. Maybe I can get all my inspiration back…that'd be really fantastic…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :D

* * *

Every morning Kane Sharp woke up at 6:25. He sat straight up, shut his alarm off, showered, and ate breakfast, which consisted of coffee and cereal most days. After he was done, he brushed his teeth as any man would, climbed into his silver Mercedes-Benz, and sped off to work at the Sanctuary.

But not this morning.

At 5:34 AM, the hardwood floors of his apartment opened up in a jagged hole. Two people propelled out of the hole, and stepped gracefully towards Sharp's sleeping figure. The two people, known to Sharp as Sanguine and Nina Minx, got on either sides of his body.

Nina Minx directed Sanguine to place a hand over his mouth, while she positioned her hands above his neck. She nodded once, and both of their hands landed on his face. Sanguine gripped his mouth tightly, and Nina Minx squeezed his throat. Sharp instantly jolted awake, thrashing around, trying to get off the hands. He noticed who was holding him, and he relaxed a bit.

"Will you behave?" Nina Minx asked sternly.

He nodded, his face turning blue. She huffed and her and Sanguine removed their hands. He coughed violently, and panted heavily when he was done.

"Look at Sanguine," she directed to Sharp. He glanced uneasily towards the man's tan face. His hat was covering his forehead and his large sunglasses shielded his "eyes." But running down his right cheek was a dark red scar.

"Sanguine failed at a job I gave him. You do know what job that was, don't you?" Sharp nodded. "Good. So, I'm going to give you a job, much like Sanguine's. There will be no death, but you must get that girl."

"The silent one?"

"Her," she nodded and grinned slightly. "I want you to get rid of her in anyway you can think of. Throw her in a ditch, bury her alive, dump her in a lake, but do whatever you need to do so no one can get near her. I need her completely free."

"Why do you need her?"

"I need her to take care of some business. There's been someone I've been meaning to kill, but I need to do it differently than the other people I've killed. The police and Sanctuary have been after me for years. They're going to suffer." She hummed in satisfaction, but snapped her head back to stare at Sharp. "You understand your job?"

Sharp nodded. "How much time do I have?"

"Until tomorrow. You won't fail, got it?" With that, she and Sanguine rose from the bed and met at the footboard at the end, and disappeared through the floorboards.

Kane Sharp groaned and flung out of bed.

When he had finished his morning routine as normally as he could, he slid into his car. He turned the ignition on and sat there for a moment. Where was he supposed to go? What was he supposed to do? His thoughts jumbled around in his head like clothes in a washing machine, until suddenly, it came to him.

He pressed the gas pedal down and ripped through the streets of the city towards the old tenement building he needed. Sharp parked sloppily on the curb and he sprinted away and up to the building. He climbed the several sets of stairs until he reached the door marked "Library." He knocked roughly, and the door immediately opened. The thin man ushered him in.

Sharp bolted to the shelves and shelves of books, looking for the correct row. But the different letters of the alphabet went on and on and on. He growled and picked up his speed, until he slammed into a body. There was a dainty gasp, followed by a gruff _oof_. He looked up at two people: a man and woman. The man was young, with black hair, and blue eyes. He scowled slightly at Sharp before disappearing through a row of shelves.

"Kane Sharp," China Sorrows said lightly, "what is your rush?"

"I'm looking for a book," he replied, trying to catch his breath.

"I do run this library," she said. "Maybe I'll be nice and help you. What exactly are you looking for?"

"It's called 'Necrosis,'" he whispered.

China nodded. She motioned for him to follow. "Come this way." Her heels clacked and clicked across the wood floors. She turned through shelves and shelves, stepped gracefully over the people littering the floors, until she stopped at an old shelve.

"What could you need with a book like this one?" she asked playfully, pulling it from the shelf. "Don't tell me you're going to go and run off to be a necromancer!" She smiled, but Sharp could see the terrifying gaze in her eyes.

"No, it's for something entirely different," he mumbled, trying not to look in her eyes.

She _tsked _and handed him the book. He thanked her, but she was already gone. He could hear the faint echoes of her shoes on the floor.

Kane Sharp nodded once, then sat down on the floor and began paging through the book.

It was maybe three hours later, and Sharp had almost lost his mind. He had read up to page 567, and from what he could, there seemed to be double that amount left in the book. Nothing in here had talked about the girl. It was just about death and necromancy. He flipped through a few more pages, until something caught his eye.

It was a very familiar design drawn in a large square in the center of the page. He quickly read through the page.

"_The _Silent Bereavement Symbol _has been speculated over thousands of years. Ancient Rome and Greece feature carvings of the symbol on a severed human head on top of the head. In the Mayan civilizations, carvings of the symbol are seen across the buildings in hidden places. Often, they are carved small, as people believe they are bad luck. _

"_Philosophers of ancient times wrote entries in diaries about dead bodies they came across, often without any mark or wound. A well known magical philosopher of the time, Anastasius, gave thoughts on the discoveries. He had said it was something the world had never seen before, and most likely wouldn't see every hundred years. He had used the magical medicine at the time and determined that the dead were healthy people and there were no traces of poison. _

"_No one has seen this symbol in hundreds of years, after the great massacres at St. Petersburg in 1754. But rumors are circulating around the magical world, saying there is always someone around with the symbol. _

"_The symbol appears in different places on the body, much like a tattoo. The few reported and accurate images show the decal on the left calf, below the right ear, beside the right breast, and the middle back. Others say they've seen them everywhere on everyone. _

"_There is only one thing everyone in the world can agree on: Watch your back." _

Kane Sharp stared down at the symbol. It was purple, and had a spiral type shape, circling around the page. Small dots were placed evenly around the shape and crosses went beside the dots.

Sharp instantly knew the symbol. He had seen Maya with it on her right cheek when her hood had accidentally fallen. She immediately yanked the hood back up, but he had seen it.

And now he knew that Maya was the person behind the murders.

* * *

The doors leading to the Sanctuary burst open. Every person, detective, special investigator, regular mages all stopped their work and immediately looked up. They all watched Kane Sharp briskly cross the threshold, carrying a think leather bound book. He had a nasty glare in his eyes and his mouth was curled downward into a frown. He stopped in the center.

"I need to speak with Valkyrie Cain!" he announced loudly. "Where is she?"

There were muffled voices from the people in the Sanctuary, until one person called out loudly.

"Don't get your panties in a twist!" Valkyrie shouted. The group parted and allowed her to come through. "Oh, Sharp. What is it?"

"Do you have that Maya girl here?" She nodded. "Well, then, I hereby place your Maya friend under arrest."

Valkyrie titled her head. She heard feet shuffling and turned and saw Skulduggery and Maya part through the center and stand beside her.

"Alright, what now?"

"I, as Detective Kane Sharp, do hereby place Maya under arrest," Sharp said again.

"Under what circumstances?" Valkyrie shrieked.

Sharp laughed. "Under _these _circumstances," he said and thrust out the book. He had book-marked the exact page where he had found the information. Valkyrie flipped to it and began scanning the page.

"What the hell is this?"

"That would be the ancient book I was told could be found in Miss Sorrow's library. It gave me the information I was promised."

"And who told you of this book?" Skulduggery asked, abruptly joining the conversation.

"They said they wanted to remain anonymous," Sharp replied, easily lying. He turned to Valkyrie. "Believe it or not, your new friend Maya is our famed murderer. How does that sound?"

Valkyrie sighed angrily and handed the book back. "I don't think that book proves anything."

Sharp laughed long and hard. "How can you not believe it? It's written in plain sight!"

"It doesn't say anything about killings!"

"It does, it does!" he insisted. "It says that there were reports of bodies with no marks or wounds found on them. They were all healthy and didn't die from poison. 'Bereavement' also means-"

"I know what it means!" she snapped, slamming the book shut loudly. "But I don't believe a goddamn word you say, Sharp! I've never liked you and you've never liked me! Maya wouldn't kill anyone-"

Valkyrie felt a small hand on her shoulder. She turned and faced Maya, with her hood down, the tattoo glaring. She shook her head. Maya removed her hand and stepped forward and faced Sharp. He was glaring and staring at her mark.

"I do confess," she announced suddenly, "to the murders of sixteen out of the eighteen deaths recorded as of now. I also feel myself responsible for the attack at Valkyrie, in which she did, in actuality die."

"Maya, I'm alive now," Valkyrie mumbled quietly.

"True you may be," she sighed, "but the fact you did die a painful and awful death still rests upon my soul. I give your permission, Mr. Sharp, to arrest me."

Kane Sharp smiled widely, pulling out his handcuffs, and attaching them to Maya's hands. He tugged at them and she began walking behind him, but Valkyrie reached out and grabbed her arm.

"NO," she screamed. "I don't believe this!"

"Believe it Cain!" Sharp sneered. Valkyrie growled loudly and angrily, and she tried lashing out, but Skulduggery gripped her hands and pulled her back.

"Valkyrie!" he commanded sternly. "Let it go!"

"I won't!" she shouted again. "Not over my dead body!"

Sharp turned and stopped. Maya looked down at the floor. She sighed and looked up hesitantly. Valkyrie was frowning, and fuming, and cringing.

"It was really me, Valkyrie," Maya whispered softly, and finally, allowed herself to tugged along by Sharp to the Sanctuary jail. They entered a set of doors, and Sharp let them close loudly.

And then, silence.

* * *

So. Good? Bad? Plain ugly? Was it plot-twisty enough for you? Was it gripping? Was it just dumb and should I stop thinking that this didn't totally suck?

YOU DECIDE.


	13. Joined

_**WARNINGS**__**: **_**This chapter will contain HEAVY M RATED MATERIAL. It does not begin with M material, but it will eventually lead to it. The beginning is safe to read, with probably swearing. I will put a thousand and one alerts as to when the M stuff is, so you all have been warned. If you don't want to read it, then don't. When it's all over, I will put another thousand and one alerts, as there will be a little bit of information after the deed. **

Aaaand!

**Shadowlord – **True, it's not likely someone would confess to murder. But this girl was really troubled and didn't want to be killing. She hated that she was killing, since it was against her will sort of. She figured that if she gave herself up, then she wouldn't be able to sneak around and kill anymore. And also, if they could arrest her, maybe they'd kill her (like as a death penalty). She's a troubled soul.

And I'm back! Anyone miss me?

* * *

Valkyrie was silent in the car ride back to Gordon's house. Her face remained plain, and no emotion crossed over it. Her mouth seemed to be glued into a thin line, and her eyes were trained in front of her. It was when Skulduggery parked the Bentley on the curb did she speak.

"I'm going to go shower. Then maybe…" she trailed off and glanced to the side.

Skulduggery nodded, like he could read her mind. "I'll stay here."

Valkyrie nodded, and rushed into the house. She flung open the door and raced up the stairs, completely ignoring Gordon on the steps. His face was laced with confusion as he flitted over to Skulduggery.

"What happened?"

"Some pretty strange things," Skulduggery muttered and meandered over to the kitchen. Gordon followed him. "Well, it's not exactly a really good story."

"I want to hear it," Gordon insisted.

Skulduggery shrugged. "All right." He sat down and began telling everything that had just happened.

When Skulduggery had finished the story, Gordon had a confused look on again.

"That's quite a shock," he murmured and rubbed his head. "Well. I can see why Valkyrie was upset now. She probably would only talk to you, right?" he asked, and trying not to smirk. "I think I'll get away for a while. Let me know when Valkyrie's calmed down again."

Skulduggery nodded slowly. Gordon smiled sadly, and then disappeared slowly in a mist. He glanced over at the clock. It was seven at night. It was early in the afternoon when Maya had been taken, but Valkyrie insisted on staying to see whether or not they could get her free. He sighed and eased himself up from the chair and made his way up to Valkyrie's bedroom. He quietly peaked in, and noticed she was asleep, still with all her clothes and everything on. He chuckled softly and sat down on her bed next to her.

When Valkyrie awoke, she was a little disoriented. She poked her head up slightly, and noticed Skulduggery stirring beside her.

"Good morning," he mumbled and pulled her closer.

She groaned and slapped her face. "What time is it?"

"Two in the morning. You sure know how to sleep," he playfully replied.

She groaned again. "Ew. I didn't shower."

"You didn't at that."

"Well I might as well just do that," she grumbled and got up from her bed. Skulduggery watched her stumbled around the room, and then watched her disappear in the bathroom. He heard the water running at full-blast. He could tell she would be in there at least an hour.

It was 3:30 AM when Valkyrie finally crept out of the bathroom. She was dressed again, in her regular jeans and a blue shirt. Her hair flowed down at her shoulders softly. She sighed and shook her head slightly. She went over to her dresser and brushed her hair, for lack of nothing better to do.

Skulduggery breathed slightly, and he got up. He went behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Are you going to be alright?" he whispered into her ear.

She nodded. "Eventually," she muttered back. "I'm just…frustrated I didn't know earlier, you know?"

Skulduggery released her and spun her around. "No I don't know. You couldn't have known!"

"Yes I could!" she argued back. "I thought I was smart enough to figure out something like that."

"Maya was silent. She never said anything. And there's no way you could have figured out she was the killer. No way. Hell, I didn't even know."

She shrugged and looked downward, but Skulduggery pulled her face back up.

"You admitted you had suspicions," he whispered, pulling her face closer.

"I know, I know. But…I don't know."

He chuckled softly and cupped her cheek in his hand. "It's fine to fail every once and a while, Valkyrie," he said into her ear, sending a chill down her spine.

She looked at him sadly. "True. But why do you have to feel so bad when you _do _fail?" she groaned.

"It's just the way the world works," he said and placed a hand on her hip. She looked down at the pale hand doubtfully and then looked back up. She gave him a pointed look, and leaned in slowly. It was Skulduggery, who leaned in far enough that lips were brought to teeth and a new electric feeling shot through them both.

* * *

**WARNING. M CONTENT TO FOLLOW. READ AT OWN RISK IF YOU PLEASE.

* * *

**

They began kissing fiercer and harder now than before. They both reveled in the new sensation of cold teeth against warm lips. Valkyrie broke away hesitantly, and took a deep breath, then reached back and kissed Skulduggery again. She felt both of his hands feel up her hips slightly, and she quickly placed her hands on his back. Skulduggery placed his arms around her softly, and she felt him trying to guide her away. He dragged her to the wall and pressed her up against it hard. She suddenly groaned in protest.

"What?" he asked, pulling back slightly.

"Is this going to fast, or is it just me?" she panted.

"Ah." He paused and looked down. "It probably is."

She nodded slowly. She tried smiling but then frowned. She pulled her arms in tighter, which made Skulduggery get in closer with her. "Yeah, well, screw going slow," she murmured and kissed him again.

Valkyrie squealed as Skulduggery ran his hands up her sides. He always managed to make her melt and feel like putty when he touched her, even slightly. She felt his skeletal hands stop at her stomach, then felt them rub across to her jeans button. She inhaled sharply as he swiftly undid the button and unzipped the zipper.

"Wait," she said desperately.

His hands automatically stopped. "What is it?" he asked softly, lovingly.

"Are you s-sure," she stuttered, "that you c-can, uh…you know?"

"Oh." He paused and backed away slightly. "I've never…_tried _to before…but I have a feeling I can."

Valkyrie grinned and leaned in and kissed Skulduggery again. His fingers traced over her exposed waist and gave her goose bumps. She shivered and sighed slightly. He immediately stopped moving when he felt her hands trail up his rib cage and unbutton the first few buttons on his white shirt. Valkyrie's clumsy fingers fumbled around, trying to desperately get rid of the shirt. Eventually, Skulduggery took his hands and removed his shirt himself.

He was now standing there, with his hands still rubbing up and down Valkyrie's sides, in just his trousers. His ribcage and the chalk white bones were fully exposed. Valkyrie gasped and ran a delicate finger across one rib. Instead of cold, brittle bone, she felt warmth and soft skin. Her other hand trailed across another rib and she felt the same thing. She rested her hands on the back of his head, and felt hair.

Valkyrie gazed up at him in awe. He was still in his skeleton form, but she could feel regular skin and everything on him. She grinned and kissed him again. She squealed again when she felt his hands go up her torso and graze over her breasts. She moaned softly. His warm hands grabbed the hem of her shirt and he yanked it over her head with great force. They heard it rip, but neither cared. They found no need for it as of that moment.

Skulduggery paused to examine Valkyrie closely. She had a black, simple bra on. It fit around her back tightly. His eye sockets roamed across her torso, until they stopped at her left hip.

"What the hell is that?" he asked quietly.

Valkyrie looked down at her hip. She gasped and bit her lip. "F-Finbar may h-have given me a tattoo. . ." She trailed off and avoided Skulduggery's gaze.

"When did you get it? And what is it?"

"It's a star and a moon below it," she whispered lightly, "and I got it when I 'died' for my parents."

The skeleton was silent for a minute, but then traced his long, bony finger across the tattoo. "I like it," he whispered in her ear, sending chills running down her back. He laughed slightly and hooked his two index fingers on her jeans belt loops. He yanked down on them and they came down from Valkyrie's hips to her mid thighs.

Valkyrie momentarily stopped breathing as her jeans came down lower and lower on her legs. She looked up as Skulduggery held out his skeletal hand for her to take. She held on and stepped out of her jeans. She kicked them away in a corner somewhere. Skulduggery pushed Valkyrie further up against the wall and pressed himself up against her. They both groaned from anticipation.

Skulduggery felt Valkyrie's warm hands grip his forearms. In one quick moment, their positions had switched. Skulduggery was up against the wall instead of Valkyrie. She placed her hands on his chest and rubbed each rib bone deliciously slow. She laughed as the unnecessary breath caught in his throat. She could tell he was trying not to moan so hard. He sensed her hands hovering around his pant's button. Her delicate fingers undid the button and her hands grazed against the noticeable lump, undoing the zipper very slowly.

Valkyrie's hands traveled back up and rubbed against the lump again, earning a loud moan from Skulduggery. Valkyrie raised her hands and tugged down on Skulduggery's trousers. They fell down and he kicked them across the room, and gripped Valkyrie's waist tightly. Valkyrie could tell he was grateful for the release. She rested her arms on his shoulder bones and looked up at him. She smirked and rubbed herself up against him. Skulduggery moaned deeply and finally, he had enough of the teasing.

The skeleton pushed Valkyrie away from him and he grabbed her arm. He led her to her bed and pushed her down on the mattress. She giggled and moved her hair from her eyes. Skulduggery stood over her in his gray boxers, smiling all the while. She grinned back and yanked him down upon her.

Valkyrie's lips found his teeth and they kissed while their hands danced around each other's body's. Suddenly, Skulduggery dipped his head lower down to Valkyrie's neck, then her collarbones, then down to her cleavage. He nipped at her sensitive skin, earning a few moans and groans from her. He leaned back up and kissed her lips softly. He brought his head back slightly.

"What is it?" Valkyrie panted, out of breath.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked softly.

Valkyrie shuddered. "Well it's a little late," she muttered and leaned up to kiss him. "If I wanted to stop, I'd have stopped."

He nodded. "Just checking, Valkyrie," he smiled and kissed her again. She bit her lip as Skulduggery slid his hands up her sides again, then he slowly slid over to her back. His skeletal hands reached to the hook on her black bra, and he quick undid it. The straps slid down her arms as he pulled at one side. Her right breast came free, and soon the left. He threw the fabric across the room and stared down at her. She noticed where he was looking and made an effort to cover up, but he pulled her arms away.

"Please don't," he whispered and kissed her. "I want to see…" With every word, he kissed down her neck and collarbones until he reached her breasts. He tentatively placed a hand on one, and heard her moan and squirm from under him. He squeezed lightly, heard her moan, then harder. Her back arched greatly and she moaned louder again. He felt her hands reach up and grip his back harshly. Her legs came up to wrap around his waist, rubbing their places together.

Valkyrie gasped as she felt Skulduggery's hardness press up against her thigh. She immediately dragged her hands down to his boxers and began poking and pulling at the waistband. She felt Skulduggery's hands reach down to her underwear as well, slipping a finger in on one side. He traced little circles, making her groan from the waiting. They both took their hands away and stared at each other for a moment. Valkyrie nodded and allowed herself to be lifted up and away from the bed by Skulduggery's strong arms. He stepped away slowly, and let his hands curl up around her backside.

Valkyrie let her legs slide down Skulduggery's bony legs, dragging his boxers with them. He sighed contentedly at the release again and moved his hands to the front of Valkyrie. He placed his hands on her hips, and slowly yanked down her black underwear.

They both grinned wildly, wrapped their arms around one another, kissed hard and long, and then fell down onto Valkyrie's bed and made love.

* * *

**Alright. The main M content is out of the way, except for a few little sexual themes coming up. YOU ARE WARNED. The only thing you missed out of this M stuff was that Valkyrie and Skulduggery had sex, alright? It comes into play later ;) And don't ask _how. _It breaks the laws of nature, but Skulduggery's been doing that for a while.

* * *

**

Valkyrie awoke at what seemed like hundreds of hours later. Her eyes flickered open and closed immediately at the light coming into the room. She stretched her arms out, but they hit something hard. There was a little yelp and someone grabbed her hands. Valkyrie took her hands back and paused.

And then her memory returned to normal.

Her eyes flung open and she sat up in bed.

"Woah, woah," Skulduggery's warm voice said, gripping her arms and pulling her back down. "Relax."

Valkyrie blinked and looked over at him. He was lying down with his arms behind his head. Even as a skeleton, Valkyrie thought, he still made that look sexy.

"So…" she paused and picked at her fingers. "We…"

"Yeah, we did," he answered, cutting her off.

"Wow," she simply said. "I'm a little shocked, to be honest," she mumbled and turned so she was talking into her pillow.

"Why is that?" Skulduggery asked, trying to sound indifferent and not let the shock and hurt show.

Suddenly, Valkyrie raised her head up and looked him square in the eyes. "I'm not…shocked like _that_. Not saying that…I…um." She flipped over again and laid flat on her back. "Not saying that I regret it…I'm just shocked that we had…"

"Sex," he finished for her.

"Right," she nodded.

"I do have to agree."

She nodded again. "And, like, since when did this sexual attraction thing start between us? It just appeared the hell out of nowhere! And what are we going to do?"

"I don't know where this came from. It's just like all of a sudden, someone you've known for forever, becomes really pretty and attractive to you. There's no explaining it."

Valkyrie blushed. "Am I that someone?"

"Yes, Valkyrie," he chuckled and turned to face her. "But what do you mean when you ask what we're going to do?"

"I mean…" She paused and played with her hair. "Well...The way I see it, we have four different options. #1, we could keep this a secret from everyone. No one has to know about it. #2, this thing could remain purely physical. None of that mush-gushy stuff. #3, we could forget all about this and never think about it again. Or, last, #4, we start a relationship type thing."

Skulduggery nodded, thinking about everything. "Well I vote we rule out #2 and #3," he said after a little bit. "#1 is not ideal, but it could still work. #2 is just offensive to me and #3 makes me sad."

"What about option 4?"

He sighed. "I think that's my favorite," he mumbled and sat up straighter. "Valkyrie, I really like you. This was just something unexpected that happened, but I don't regret it in the least. I think I'd really enjoy being with you and getting to know you better."

"You already know everything about me!" she teased.

He shrugged. "There's always those deep dark secrets no one shares."

"My deep dark secrets aren't that dark! What secrets do you have?" She grinned.

"Maybe you'll find out later," he muttered and moved closer to her. He placed an arm around her bare waist and pulled her closer to him. Skulduggery kissed her softly on the lips. Valkyrie kissed back slightly harder, wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing herself to be pushed onto her back. Skulduggery shifted his body around so he was laying against Valkyrie lightly. He felt himself growing harder.

"Excited are we?" Valkyrie murmured. She wiggled her eyebrows and kissed him. He chuckled softly, kissing her back faster and harder now. Suddenly, she pushed him back. "Should we really be doing this again?" she asked timidly. "Not that I don't mind, but do you think we even should?"

Skulduggery nodded. "You do have a point, but as of now, I am way too hot and bothered to stop," he said and descended upon her body once more.

* * *

Valkyrie turned her body and looked at the clock. 10:32 AM. She sighed and rose from the bed slowly. She quick threw on her underwear and a long sleeved shirt.

"Where are you going?" Skulduggery groaned from the bed.

"Just to get coffee. I'll be back," she replied and kissed his skull. He laughed quietly, and then stroked her hand softly. She smiled and turned away and headed out the door. She shut it silently, and crept down the hallway and down the stairs.

She tugged on her over-sized shirt in an attempt to cover her underwear and more of her legs. She sauntered to the kitchen, but stopped.

"Oh," Fletcher said, "well this is interesting."

* * *

Was it good? Bad? Retarded? Weird? Dirty? Way too much? Just right? Not enough? Only YOU can answer my questions!

But, yeah, really, what did ya'll think? The beginning's is a little weird, but that's the best I could do. I sorta had fun writing this. I had the M scene written for a reeeally long time, but I'm glad I've finally gotten it up! :D

AND HEY. Go read **Conquering America: One State at a Time.** It's partially mine and it's funny and really good! Please give it a read. Sure, the plot hasn't really started yet, but it will soon. Promise! We want revieeeeews!

Sorry for any mistakes and thanks heaps for reading! :3


	14. Even Better Talks

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I sincerely hope the M stuff wasn't bad or anything…badly written or just dumb…yeah.

Yeeep, this is just the chapter where they all talk and nothing else happens. I LOVE THESE ONES.

:D

AND DUDE. **Shawdowlord**, I dunno! The original premise for this whole story was a request from a friend here to do M rated stuff. I had this idea of this creepy girl who has a giant hood who kills people for a long time, and decided to combine the two. True, there was no real _need _for that, but still.

_**WARNINGS: **_**Mild to strong sexual themes.

* * *

**

"_Oh," Fletcher said, "well this is interesting." _

Valkyrie stared down at the teleporter sitting at her kitchen table, casually drinking his coffee.

"Hi Valkyrie," Fletcher grinned. "Anything you want to share with the class?"

Valkyrie remained frozen in her spot.

"You'll have to tell me at some point. I'm going to keep pestering you until you finally give in." He yawned and stretched and stared at Valkyrie. She was still frozen. "You alright there? Those hickeys on your neck might cause some problems with your blood flow soon."

"W-What?" she screeched and her hands flew up to her neck.

"Down a little bit," Fletcher said, pointed to her hand. "Left, no a little more…stop! Yeah, right there." He got up and waltzed over to her to peer at the red mark closer. "Man, someone really, really sucked on yo-"

"Oh shut up!" she seethed. "This is my personal business and not yours, Fletcher Ignatius Renn!"

"Ignatius is not my middle name!" he whined. "That's the fake name!" He frowned at her, and then glared. "Valkyrie, may I just ask a few very simple and mild questions?"

She sighed and went to make her own coffee. "If you must," she murmured.

"Number one: Do you love him? I'm assuming it's a him…"

"It's a him."

"Alright, just checking. Do you love him?"

She nodded. "I think I do."

"Alright, got the first question right. Second: Were you drunk?"

"No, good Lord. I've only been drunk twice, and they've both been awful."

"Correct answer!" he grinned. "Third: Do I know him?"

"Yes," she said.

"Fourth: Was it Skulduggery?"

Valkyrie didn't answer, but kept her eyes glued to the floor.

"Alright, that's acceptable. Better him than Scapegrace!" Fletcher smiled wildly. "Then five: Did you use protection?"

"Ahh…about that," Valkyrie muttered and looked up at Fletcher. "No, we didn't."

"Okay, question five, variation A: How many times?"

Valkyrie smirked at the memories. "Twice…" she said sheepishly.

"Nice," he grinned. "Question five, variation B: Protection on the second time?"

"No…"

Fletcher didn't say anything for a few seconds. "That's bad, Valkyrie," he finally said.

"I know, I know!" she groaned. "But it was just…fast. And neither of us expected it to happen! It was just…sudden."

Fletcher smiled slightly.

"Oh why the hell am I telling you this? I should be spilling my heart and soul out to Tanith or something! Not the crazy, immature guy friend!"

"Hey! I am not crazy!"

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter, trying to cover up her black underwear. "Is it really bad?"

"Well…you could be pregnant. It just takes that _one _time without protection. I can't imagine you being pregnant. God save the people if that ever happens."

Valkyrie poked her tongue out. "Meanie," she grinned. "Fletcher," she asked in all seriousness. "Will I be alright?"

"No telling. Wait a week before deciding anything," he explained. "The morning sickness usually sets in after about a week."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"I once had a pregnancy scare with a girlfriend a while back," he muttered. "Scared the hell out of me."

"Was that why Kenspeckle seemed nicer to you that one time?" Valkyrie asked, smiling slightly.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Well knock someone up and we'll be nice to you!"

"Ha, ha, very funny Valkyrie." He smiled at her. "Now, see, not trying to scare you. But…I don't really know _how _sex with Skulduggery would even be possible, but I guess he can do anything. I don't know how it worked, but I'm assuming it was basically the same."

"It _was _the same."

"Well then, just wait it out."

"I guess. There's no way in telling sooner, is there?"

"What's sooner?" Skulduggery asked, walking into the kitchen, fully dressed. He looked from Valkyrie to Fletcher, and back again. "Oh," he finally muttered and went to stand by Valkyrie. "Well this is slightly awkward."

Fletcher shrugged. "It'd be worse if you were dressed the same as her," he said and pointed to Valkyrie, who blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go put on pants," she chuckled and quick left the room. Fletcher caught Skulduggery watching her and sigh. He looked back at Fletcher and seemed to frown.

"What did you say?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you tease, make fun, etc.?"

"No," Fletcher said, frowning. "I didn't at all. I just was asking a few questions."

Skulduggery sighed and went to sit next to him. "What kind of questions?"

"I just wanted to ask if you two used…protection," he said softly.

"Oh." Skulduggery slumped slightly. "We didn't."

"She told me."

"Oh no…"

"Hey relax," Fletcher said, trying to sound optimistic. "It's not like it's a 100% chance she's actually pregnant. She might not be."

"True, true," Skulduggery mumbled, his head in his hands. "We didn't even think about it…"

"I get it. All you care about is getting some after a while."

Skulduggery sighed, a little amused. "In a way, yes," he agreed and leaned back against the kitchen chair he was in. "Fletcher," he said suddenly, turning serious, "please don't say a word about this. It wouldn't go down very pretty with everyone else, nor with the Sanctuary if they ever found out. This is a secret between the three of us, got it?"

"Yes, sir!" he said and saluted. "I understand, sir!" He smiled widely at Skulduggery, and at Valkyrie as she waltzed back into the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. She brushed up against Skulduggery a bit and went to grab her coffee.

Afterwards, Fletcher had learned the whole story with Maya and the Sanctuary. He frowned as they told the ending with the arrest.

He sighed. "That…sucks," he said, for lack of a better word. "That really, really sucks."

Valkyrie smiled lightly. "To put it simply, yes, it sucks," she said.

Skulduggery nodded. "I hope we can do something," he mumbled.

"Maybe you can," Gordon said from behind them. "Valkyrie, your phone is ringing. It's coming from your pants…in the corner of the room," he said, slightly suspiciously. "I saw the caller ID and it said it was the Grand Mage."

Valkyrie's jaw dropped open and she bolted away to her room and grabbed the phone just in time.

"Hello?" she answered breathlessly.

"Valkyrie Cain?" came Grand Mage Cogent's voice. "We request yours and Skulduggery Pleasant's assistance."

"What for?"

"It's about your friend, Maya. She won't speak to anyone but you two, and we need to know her motives and what caused those killings."

Valkyrie frowned. "When do you need us?"

"As soon as your available," Cogent replied from the other end.

She nodded. "We can be there within the hour," she said quickly.

"Good. We're counting on you." With that, both women hung up. Valkyrie ran back downstairs.

"Cogent wants us to get over to the Sanctuary and talk to Maya. She won't talk to anyone else but us," she explained quickly. She glanced at Fletcher, but noticed her uncle was gone. "Where's Gordon?"

"He was afraid you hadn't calmed down yet, so he disappeared," Skulduggery chuckled.

Valkyrie snorted. "That's Gordon alright…" she mumbled and smiled. "I need my coat, and then we need to go." Skulduggery nodded.

"Well," Fletcher said, stretching, and getting up, "I'm off. Misty said she needed to see me. No idea what that's about. Anyway, I just have one thing to say for you two."

"What is it?"

"Well," Fletcher grinned, "it looks liked you two just gave a whole new meaning to the word 'boner!'" he shouted and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Valkyrie groaned and went to grab her coat from her room. She noticed the messed up bed and pillows, and had to smile.

* * *

I thought I was going to add other things, but decided against it. I kinda like this last line here. Umm…that's it I guess.

Sorry for mistakes! Donka shön! :D


	15. The Past

:|

:\

D:

Things tie together a bit more in this chapter…

* * *

"There you are," Cogent called to the partners as the briskly strolled up to the doors leading to the holding cells at the Sanctuary. "We've been waiting for you. Follow me." She turned straight back to the grand door and held it open for the two. Skulduggery and Valkyrie ducked through quickly then followed the grand mage forward, down dark and drafty corridors, and past metal and chained doors. She led them to a dark wood door and pointed to it.

"She's in there, waiting," Sybil Cogent said dramatically, and then swept away from the two. Valkyrie rose her eyebrows at Skulduggery, who nodded and pushed the door open.

Maya was seated at a metal table, with her black cloak rolled up and sitting next to her on the table. Valkyrie realized she had never seen Maya without the cloak on. She had on a pure white tank top, with blotches and spatters of dark red.

Valkyrie smiled weakly and pulled out a chair to sit in. Skulduggery sat down gracefully next to her.

There was a silence that spanned for minutes. Maya looked downward and picked at her nails, while Valkyrie just stared hard at Maya's tattoo. It had been a dark purple, but now it had changed and morphed to a lilac color.

Valkyrie felt a hand close over her own and looked over at Skulduggery. He nodded reassuringly, and turned to look at Maya.

"Ready to talk?" Valkyrie asked, sitting forward in her chair.

Maya looked up slowly. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked like death itself. "What is there to talk about?"

"How _you_ came to be, that tattoo, the motives, the death," Valkyrie listed off. "There are a few options. How about we start with how you got this weird death thing, alright?"

Maya pursed her lips and finally nodded. "I was born in 1956 to a normal family. I had normal friends, normal parents, and a totally normal life. It was 1972 when a few of my friends and I had gone out to see the first Godfather movie when it came out in March. We all loved it, let me just say."

Valkyrie realized Maya's accent was American. It wasn't Texan like Sanguine's voice, but not Irish like her voice.

"Anyway," Maya continued, her voice softer this time, "as the movie was over and we were coming out of the cinema building my friends parents had all come to pick them up. I was the only one left. It was a Friday night, the shadiest night of the week. I was left by the building, waiting for the parents. I guess I should have felt the presence of someone nearby, but I didn't. Before I knew it, someone's cold hands reached out and grabbed my neck. They pulled me away and into some woods. He sat me down on the ground and I finally got a good look at him.

"This man had tired and matted red hair, with calming gray eyes and a purple tattoo exactly like mine on his neck. He explained to me exactly what he had been through, and how he was sorry that he was transferring that over to me. The man, he told me his name was Ian. He had on regular blue jeans, with dark red sneakers. He had a white sweatshirt, stained with blood and dirt. The hood was huge and he pulled it up over his face to hide his tattooed neck. I remember him stepping closer to me, and then placing his hands on my face, and I was gone. There was nothing.

"Someone woke me up at least a week later. It was someone who was going out on a search for me, I suppose. I never got an answer, since when they woke me up I immediately killed them. I jumped up and ran as far and as fast as I could. Remembering his white sweatshirt, I immediately ran out and bought these clothes I'm wearing now. I stumbled around for a while; searching for something or someone who might care for me, until an elderly man took me in.

"He led me to his home, and asked me about magic or something of that nature. I said something very powerful and bad had happened to me, explaining the tattoo. The man, named Salvatore, knew what I was talking about. He had read or heard about my _condition_ and said he couldn't do anything about it but care for me as a regular person. He called someone up on the phone, and a few days later, a package arrived. It was the cloak I wear now. It fit perfectly, and was flame proof, but not bullet.

"I stayed with the man for many years, up until 1985, when something major and awful happened. As you know by now, the killing can't be stopped. I would have to sneak out every night (and of course he was alright with this, knowing my condition). One day, I didn't sneak out and tried to contain myself. I ended up unleashing it on the old man. He was killed instantly. So I fled on the spot. I ran up to Canada and stayed there for a few years. I killed a lot of Canadians…"

Maya paused to look at Valkyrie and Skulduggery. Both were staring intently at her, piecing everything together.

"Go on," Skulduggery said, urging her.

Maya nodded, taking a deep breath. "Right. I stayed in Canada until 1992, where I moved on up to Greenland and remained there until 1994. After that, I hopped a boat and traveled to Iceland, where I stayed there until 1996. I fled after someone caught me, jumped onto a boat, sailed to Spain, stayed there for two years, and then I ran to France. I stayed there for a few decades, and then quickly escaped to London after someone saw me again. I remained hidden, refusing to kill, almost killing myself. After that, I came to Ireland, and have been hiding in a cave, only killing once a year. I lived there for ten years. It put a strain on my mind which sent me to hysteria. I was found by a small child, maybe around seven years old.

"I remember she had auburn hair done up in a bun, with a blue sweater and purple corduroy pants. She smiled and held her hand out, saying that everything would be alright. She said I had nothing to worry about that her and her family would take me in. She asked if I had a name, and when I didn't respond, she said she would give me a name. I think she named me Celia. She told me her name was Mary. She led me through woods and through creaks, until we ended up at a huge, beautiful house with cone shaped tops and white shutters with a light blue paint around the whole thing.

"Mary led me into the house and introduced me to her sisters, Anna, Belle, Lacey, and Christina. She had two brothers, Mark – her twin – and David. They all grinned happily at me, and I felt a little overwhelmed to be honest. Mary told me to play with her doll, while she went and got her parents. She came back into the front room a few moments later, dragging her parents along with her.

"Mary's mother – Lucille – was a lovely woman and could cook the greatest meals I've ever tasted. Mary's father, however – Carl – was a nasty man. He was a rude, arrogant, and didn't care for anyone. But he begrudgingly accepted me, and I lived with Mary and her huge family."

"Did you end up…killing them?" Valkyrie asked, having predicted the ending of this story when Maya first mentioned Mary.

Maya nodded grimly.

"After barely killing, I was still a little crazy, especially after the hysteria. It hadn't officially worn off yet, so I still behaved a little strange. It was a few years later, and Mary had just celebrated her tenth birthday. When we had all gone to bed, I woke up abruptly. Usually, once a week I had to sneak out and kill, but I thought I could wait it out, not thinking of the disastrous results last time I did this.

"I remember by whole body took over and my tattoo and face burned when I had this urge. I tiptoed out of bed and stalked across the hall to the master bedroom. Carl and Lucille were up, reading in bed. I pulled my hood down and just stared at them. And finally, a few moments later, both of them were slumped down in bed. I sighed and bolted to the boys room, and ended up killing them as well. They frowned as they saw me, staring at them, with such anger and rage in my eyes.

"After the boys, I rushed to the girls room. Anna and Belle were both up, but Lacey, Christina, and Mary were all asleep. Anna and Belle never liked me, them being the oldest and wariest. Anna lunged at me, while Belle grabbed her sisters and protected them. In the struggle, I pulled out a knife I had kept in my pocket and tried to scare her off. But she jumped over to a drawer and pulled out a handgun and made sure it was loaded. I knew I wouldn't get out of there alive, so I ran. Anna followed me. I could hear Mary screaming for me to come back.

"I came to the stairs, and jumped down from the banister, landing with a thud and putting a dent in the floor. Anna shot a volley and came charging at me. I heaved and groaned as I felt a bullet that I hadn't felt before lodge itself deeper in my leg. Anna came closer to me, and I quick thrust my knife out, catching Anna in the chest. I stabbed clean through her, screaming as the bullet moved, and as she screamed. I wrenched the knife away, and stepped back as the blood poured away and down from her, creating a huge puddle on the hard wooden floors. In the process my hood had fallen off, revealing my tattoo. I looked up and saw Mary, staring at me with her wide blue eyes. She was at the top of the stairs, her doll in her hand.

"I remember her asking me why I had done this. I didn't answer, but I simply ran. I ran from the house as far and as long as I could. I ended up in some woods, and remained there for a long while. I yanked the bullet out and cleaned my blade, and stuck it back in my pocket. Then, up until your first recorded killing, I've been roaming the Ireland countryside, admiring the scenery and killing as little as possible. But , suddenly, the killings are closer together and more and more, as you've probably noticed. I found you, Valkyrie in the woods by those dead people, and had to attack you. You probably know the rest of the story from there. I feel no need to explain this further."

Maya sat back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. Valkyrie sighed and opened to her mouth to respond, but the door swung open and Kane Sharp sauntered through.

"That was a lovely speech," he said coolly. "Before you react, Miss Cain, yes we recorded the whole thing. I've got it on a tape in another room. Now, if you all could follow me, we could place Maya in a cell and be done with all this mess." He smiled and held open the door for them all. They all filed out, and Valkyrie noticed Maya's pants were white, as well as her dirt caked sneakers. Kane Sharp took the lead and marched down the corridor and out into the main hall. Valkyrie gasped at the sight. Skulduggery growled and Maya stood as still as stone. Kane Sharp smiled smugly.

"Very nice, Sharp," Nina Minx said, her lips pursed. She nodded once to Sanguine beside her, who nodded back and sunk through the ground. Valkyrie cracked her neck and went charging towards them, but she hit something invisible and rebounded and fell down.

Nina Minx cackled. "Thank goodness for my force field, no?" Nina Minx looked over at Valkyrie, who was snarling, with Skulduggery beside her. Kane Sharp gave her a wary look, and then her eyes set on Maya.

Maya stared back at Nina Minx. She noticed the tight bun on her hair and the blue eyes and she frowned deeply. "Mary?"

* * *

So…I tried giving hints…I'm not sure if you were expecting that or not.

I'm sorry this is a little bit pointless and incredibly boring and long and it's only Maya talking, but it was necessary. Now you know the whole story of her past, and you all have no idea how much my hands hurt from typing this whole thing.

Hey, we're getting close to the end (sort of)! Only six more chapters!

I'm sorry for mistakes (I'm a bit lazy and I can't be bothered to read through Maya's whole speech again) and thank you for reading! :D


	16. Fighting Begins

Don't have much to say…Except that pretty much the rest of this story will be fighting/action. We're getting close to the end.

* * *

Valkyrie frowned. "That's Mary?"

"That's Mary all grown up," Maya responded, taking a step backward. Suddenly, there was a loud shredding sound, and the air rippled in front of them. There was another rumbling sound as Sanguine appeared through the stone floors and grabbed both Skulduggery and Valkyrie by their arms. He pulled them back and they sunk into the ground. Valkyrie could hear gunshots and screaming coming from above.

"Kill me, Funnybones, and I kill pretty Valkyrie," Sanguine announced to the sound of Skulduggery's gun cocking in his pocket. "And then you'll both be here, just stuck underneath the Sanctuary buildin'."

Skulduggery grunted and folded his arms across his chest. Valkyrie, meanwhile, had her eyes closed tight and her breathing was incredibly irregular.

"Whatcha' afraid of, Valkyrie?" Sanguine breathed lazily into her ear. "Afraid I'll leave ya in the dirt? Afraid I'll kill ya?"

"Well you've failed to do that, so I don't see how you'd do it now," she replied smugly.

"Like this," he snarled and whipped out his straight razor from his pocket and placed it at her neck. "I think it'd be wise if you shut your trap."

Valkyrie sucked in a breath. "Fine." Suddenly, there was a sharp ring coming from someone's pocket.

"I'm still surprised I get such good reception down here," Sanguine grinned and grabbed his phone, never releasing either one of them. "Ya'll done up there?" he drawled lazily. He waited for an answer on his phone, nodded once, and ended the call. "Back up!" he announced and the dirt and rock formed beneath their feet and it broke up above their heads. Sanguine began tunneling back up the way they had come.

Before long, he sprung from the hole in the stone floor, still gripping Skulduggery and Valkyrie, now both caked in dirt. Valkyrie huffed and wiped her mouth of the dirt and looked around. Kane Sharp stood at the east end, guarding the door. His shiny red handgun was loaded and cocked. The people who had been in the room were all gone.

And Maya was missing, as was Nina Minx, or Mary. Sanguine released the two and strolled over to Sharp. They exchanged a few words, and strolled up to the two of them. Sharp stood opposite Valkyrie, while Sanguine shuffled to stand in front of Skulduggery. Without warning, Sanguine lurched forward, grabbing Skulduggery, and quickly tunneled through the floor. She stared at the spot for a moment, and then felt a cold and hard object crash into her head.

She fell to her knees, rubbing the aching bump on her head. Sharp cocked his gun and prepared to fire, but shadows lifted up around Valkyrie's necklace (which Skulduggery had given back to her a few days ago) and they wrenched his gun free. Valkyrie whipped around and kicked his shin, and punched his gut. He gagged and stumbled backwards, allowing Valkyrie the advantage. She pulled her gun free from her jacket and cocked it and aimed it for Sharp's chest.

"Why did you never like me, Sharp?" she growled.

He lashed his leg out, kicking Valkyrie's shin back. She growled louder and pressed the gun closer to him.

"You're just a little girl," he snarled, pushing the gun away. Valkyrie didn't waver. "I'm experienced, and have been in this field longer than you. Why are you higher up? Why can't _I _be the head detective? You're skeleton and you could just get away…Escaping all this madness. Wouldn't you like that?"

Valkyrie's head tilted, a lot of like Skulduggery, really. She frowned. "I won't be leaving until you're forced out of the Sanctuary," she said.

"Well, I think we'd both prefer if it was the opposite way. I'll get a higher up to revoke you badge. You'll be nothing. Just a pitiful little necrophilia like necromancer."

Valkyrie snarled and spat on the ground, firing a round of bullets at Sharp's general direction. He ducked out of the way and pushed the air away and dove to grab his red gun. He fired at Valkyrie, but she conjured a wall of shadows to deflect his bullets. He swore loudly and charged towards her. Before she could register it, Kane Sharp had wrenched out a knife from his coat pocket and slammed the knife into her shoulder.

Valkyrie's eyes went wide as she felt sticky and warm blood ooze out the wound. She screamed when Sharp dislodged the knife from the muscles and he flung it out and away. It clattered to the other side of the room. Sharp pushed Valkyrie down onto the floor and bent over her.

"I doubt this would come as a surprise," he said casually, as if talking about the weather, "but I _have _been working with Mr. Sanguine and Nina Minx-"

"Who's Nina Minx?" Valkyrie muttered.

"The lovely woman that took your friend," he replied, annoyed. "I've been working with them and was in on your supposed death. I wanted to do it, but Sanguine insisted he could. Well! Look how well that turned out." He grinned wickedly and grabbed Valkyrie's gun from her hand. "It was nice knowing you," he said and cocked the gun. Valkyrie began hyperventilating again, and then slammed her boot into Sharp's crotch.

He shrieked embarrassingly high, and Valkyrie pushed him away and rolled on top of him. She took her gun and aimed it at his forehead.

"It didn't come as a huge surprise no," she agreed softly, "but I'm still surprised one would stoop so low to help out that Texan bastard. Anyway, good night." She smiled sweetly and bashed the butt of her gun up against his left temple. He groaned and laid down unconscious. Valkyrie reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of shiny, silver handcuffs and dragged Sharp's heavy body to a table in the corner. She attached the cuffs to a chair, at the top, making it just about impossible to get away. She smiled at her handiwork, just in time to hear a low rumbling coming from the opposite end of the room.

Sanguine appeared through the ground, and Skulduggery suddenly burst through the doors; gun in hand, dirt covering half of his skull. The doors at the other side flew open, and China Sorrows, Mr. Bliss, Tanith, Ghastly, and Fletcher all burst through. Tanith looked murderous, and Fletcher just looked confused.

"Is everyone alright?" Mr. Bliss asked, scanning the room.

"We're fine," Valkyrie called back. "Mr. Kane Sharp, however, is not doing so well. He's a double-crosser, so I don't know what you want to do with him."

Mr. Bliss nodded. "Not much of surprise," he mumbled and glanced at China warily. She sighed and left the room, returning with a huge knife moments later. She went to the chair and hacked away at the wood, and pulled the cuffs off of Sharp and dragged him away. He groaned and moved slightly, but remained still otherwise.

"Where's Maya?" Valkyrie suddenly remembered, fearing the worst.

"Oh she's here with me!" Nina Minx called from across the room by the less-crowded doors. Sanguine was standing next to her, gripping Maya. They had thrown her cloak on her, covering her face.

"We'll be waiting," Nina Minx said and snapped her fingers. Valkyrie shouted in rage and reached for the hole the three were disappearing through.

* * *

So…short and weird chapter…I got that. The next one should be short as well…

I like the shortness. It was sooo easy to write. Like, I just did this in one night :)

So, thanks for reading, sorry for mistakes, and could you please review? Wouldn't it be awesome to have, like, 80 or 90 reviews by the time this is over?

:D


	17. Interrogation

Yeeep. Sorry for the incredibly lame and annoying wait. I couldn't bring myself to write, but hopefully now I'm all good :)

* * *

Valkyrie growled in frustration, pacing the floor quickly. Skulduggery stood by, leaned up against the wall, his hat pulled down low.

"Valkyrie," he eventually said, "can't we please take you to Kenspeckle's?" He gestured to the wound on her shoulder.

She turned her head sharply and shook her head. "Not until Sharp wakes up. Even then, I don't want to go."

"You're looking a little green, though," Tanith said, coming away from the corner she was in with Ghastly and Fletcher. "You don't look good."

"Well being pretty all the time is a bit hard," Valkyrie growled, squeezing at her arm wound lightly.

"Mr. Bliss said he would let us know when Sharp wakes up," Skulduggery muttered, coming closer to Valkyrie. "We'll find Maya as soon as we can." Valkyrie frowned, but nodded and let Skulduggery lead her away. Tanith followed them and opened the big doors, but a figure ran in before they could exit.

"Where is he?" Sybil Cogent roared, the fire blazing in her hands. "I'll have him hanged for treason!"

"Sharp's unconscious," Ghastly said. "Valkyrie knocked him out. We're waiting for him to wake so we can question him to the whereabouts of Maya, the murderer."

"Don't call her a murderer," Valkyrie pleaded quietly, clutching her shoulder.

Cogent snapped her head to look at Valkyrie. "I heard Sanguine and some crazy woman attacked. Is this true?" Valkyrie nodded. "That man will be hanged at noon!" she called out and stalked away. Valkyrie sighed heavily as Skulduggery continued to pull her away from the Sanctuary.

He took her to Kenspeckle's. They filled him in on everything that had happened, and he wasn't too pleased.

"Such a shame," he muttered angrily as he tightened the bandage on Valkyrie's shoulder. He looked up and over at Skulduggery, who was hovering close by. _Incredibly _close. "Why are you watching her like a vulture?" Kenspeckle asked slyly.

Skulduggery shrugged. "I'm just worried."

Kenspeckle nodded slowly. "Alright, I suppose. I don't really believe you, especially when I can see the hickey clearly visible on Valkyrie's neck."

She huffed angrily and placed her hand around her neck. "Our personal business, Kenspeckle, thank you."

He grinned slightly. "Yes, yes. If you two need me, I'll be in the other lab." He left the two in silence, glancing back once as he shut the door. Valkyrie sighed and opened her mouth to say something, when Skulduggery's phone buzzed in his pocket. He quick answered it, nodded a few times, then said, "I understand. We'll be there soon."

"Who was that?" Valkyrie asked.

"Bliss. Sharp is awake."

* * *

Valkyrie pushed open the huge wooden doors with great force, sending them crashing into the wall. Bliss and China were hunched over a table, looking at a huge map of Ireland.

"Good," Bliss said when they approached him, "you're here. Sharp is with Tanith in the first interrogation room." Valkyrie nodded and sprinted away, rushing into the room, Skulduggery right behind her. She knocked on the door loudly, and Tanith went to answer it. She allowed them to pass, and she left and shut the door behind her.

Sharp sneered. "How's your shoulder?"

"Shut your mouth," Valkyrie snarled, placing her hands on the table he was sitting at. "You only answer my questions. Never speak unless we give you permission." Sharp gave her a wary look, but his smirk disappeared. "Now, when did you first join with Sanguine what that chick?"

"It was three weeks ago. I received a call from an unknown number, and he said that he had information about the Maya girl, and getting rid of you." Sharp noticed Skulduggery step closer to Valkyrie. "He contacted me first, and I had his voice pinned the second time he called, asking if you had any weaknesses, Cain."

"Bastard," she shouted. "Why are you so set on killing me? What have I done to you?"

"You took my job! You too skeleton!" He jumped in his chair, his hands still cuffed together. "I've been with the Sanctuary, working my ass off, trying my hardest to impress the grand mage!"

"Oh boo-hoo," Valkyrie sighed. "Sit down while I play you the world's saddest song on the world's smallest violin." She rubbed her pointer finger and thumb together. "Cry me a river. Why didn't you report Sanguine to someone on the Sanctuary? He could have been caught and placed in jail no problem."

Sharp smirked. "I wasn't going to jail the man who could be behind both of your downfalls."

Skulduggery huffed angrily. Valkyrie looked at him, and nodded once. He nodded back, and quick left the room. He returned a few moments later, carrying a few papers and the think leather book Sharp had obtained with the information about Maya's tattoo. He placed it on the table, and spread out a few pictures. Skulduggery pointed to one picture.

"This is a younger picture of the woman you're following. Detectives have pegged her as Iris Jones. Why is she now Nina Minx?"

"Mr. Sanguine told me that she changes her name every decade. In the 1970's, he said, he knew her as Iris Jones. The 80's she was Daisy Jack. The 90's it was Lisa Slug. The list could go on and on, but she finally picked Nina Minx for now. Who knows what the next one will be?"

"Following the pattern, it should be two syllables per first name, and one syllable for the last name," Skulduggery muttered coolly.

Sharp grunted. "Smart ass." Skulduggery chuckled for a moment, but pointed to the same picture. "Sanguine called you. How did she approach you?"

"I hadn't met her until a few days ago. Both of them invaded my house, and they almost killed me. Sanguine had her on the phone for me a few times, but I had only heard her voice. She gave me directions on what to do with you, Cain, but that was shot after you came back from the dead."

In the corner, Valkyrie smirked and shifted her position on the wall.

"Where are they keeping Maya?"

"Not sure," Sharp grinned.

"_Where_?" Skulduggery asked again, closing in some space between him and Sharp.

Kane Sharp groaned loudly and cracked his neck. "I don't exactly know where. It's somewhere in Trinity, up north. I remember Sanguine saying the place was an old beat up house, with blue paint and white windows and shutters. He said it'd be beautiful, if all the bones of the dead family were there, sitting in a corner. Sanguine said that Nina Minx had literally skinned them herself, splashing the blood across the rooms."

Skulduggery turned and gave Valkyrie a look. She sighed and blinked twice.

"That's all we needed. Thank you, Sharp." He stepped out of the room, and let Valkyrie shut and lock the door. Tanith was still outside waiting for them.

"Where to now?" she asked with an eager smile, her sword ready to attack.

* * *

Sorry again for the long wait and I apologize this sucks. Next chapter will be some MORE explanation, but some fighting. The next after that definitely has fights, then some depressing stuff. Then after that, it's the end! OH NOES.

But anyway, hope you like a little and thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes! :D


	18. Scent of Death

:] *hearts*

* * *

"Sharp said it was a in a forest in Trinity. The forest doesn't have specific addresses, Fletcher," Valkyrie mumbled, smirking a little. She peered at Tanith, Ghastly, and Fletcher together in the back.

"Well my butt hurts," he announced.

"We're almost there," Skulduggery said. "Just another ten minutes or so until we reach Trinity. Then, we'll come up with a plan."

"By plan you mean we'll wander around aimlessly for a while until we find a giant Victorian style house?"

He paused and looked over at Valkyrie. "I think we may just do that."

She smirked and turned to stare out the window. They passed different cars, none of them measuring up to the Bentley. Valkyrie sighed as they turned right in a small little intersection. Skulduggery continued driving, until he abruptly stopped at a tree line.

"Well!" he beamed. "Here's a forest, let's go searching!" Everyone groaned and begrudgingly staggered out of the Bentley. They all assembled in a little group. Skulduggery directed Tanith and Ghastly to search out in the east part, while Fletcher, Valkyrie, and himself would take the west. He said that after three hours of searching, and if nothing had come up, to meet back at the Bentley. They all had their cell phones, so they were to call him or Valkyrie if they found anything.

Tanith and Ghastly said goodbye, and sprinted away in the eastern direction. Skulduggery beckoned the two to follow him, and together, the three plunged into the dark forest.

"My butt still hurts," Fletcher proclaimed again, after just fifteen minutes of picking and poking around the trees. "This is boring."

Valkyrie laughed and stopped to poke a tree. "Think they're in a tree?"

"Knowing the things that we come across," Skulduggery said, "this wouldn't be all too surprising."

She laughed again and turned sharply to the other side of the tree. She placed her hands on the bark and took a second to breath. Valkyrie sniffed the air and sighed lightly.

"The house isn't here," she finally said. "Get Tanith and Ghastly. We have to keep moving." Valkyrie turned swiftly, and began heading back towards the car.

"How do you know?" Skulduggery asked.

"I'm a necromancer. There have been two deaths in a 20 mile radius. Maya killed a total of five people. Maya said something about a blue house with white shutters, where she was taken in by Mary/Nina Minx. Sharp said that Nina Minx and Sanguine were probably holding her in a blue house with white shutters. If my powers are working correctly, and no one is throwing off the scent of death, the house is not within 20 miles of here."

Skulduggery paused, but nodded and whipped his phone out. Fletcher began walking back to the Bentley, Valkyrie close behind him, wiggling her fingers excitedly, swirling the shadows. She breathed in and out in the way Wreath had taught her once, and let the shadows around her hand point in jagged spikes. Her hand thrust downward and the spikes released from the air and stabbed themselves into the ground. Five out of the seven spikes toppled over and dissipated into the air, while the remaining two tilted to the left.

Fletcher stood in awe. "That was pretty much awesome," he said slyly. Valkyrie smiled and punched his shoulder. They watched Skulduggery emerge from the forest, Tanith and Ghastly next to him.

"Thank you Wreath!" Tanith renounced. "I never thought I would thank that man."

"Neither did I," Ghastly added. Valkyrie shrugged and slid into the Bentley next to Skulduggery. Tanith, Ghastly, and Fletcher squeezed into the back again.

"Getting warmer," Valkyrie muttered into the silence. "Take a right. Drive for the next five miles or so." They had been driving for another hour, not stopping for anything. Valkyrie gave the occasional direction, but the car ride was silent, with the exception of the soft purring engine. Skulduggery turned the car gracefully to the right, and then kept going straight for a few minutes.

"Where now?" he asked.

"Take a left, then stop after two miles," Valkyrie answered, fiddling with her black necklace. Skulduggery nodded, then complied with her directions. They drove on for a few minutes, before he pulled to the side of the road and they all stepped out of the car.

"Well here's a forest!" Ghastly said. "Lead the way, Valkyrie," he said again, bowing and sweeping his hand through the air. She chuckled once, and then began walking into the forest. Her breathing increased steadily, until it came in short and quick breathes.

"Are you alright?" Tanith questioned.

Valkyrie nodded. "Can you feel it?" she asked quietly.

"Feel what?"

"Violent death," she replied, spreading her arms wide and sprinting off northwards. Everyone took off after her. Skulduggery sped up his legs and caught up with her. They ran in almost perfect sync, jumping over logs and rocks at the same time. It was after five minutes of running when Valkyrie finally stopped at a clearing. Everyone skidded to a halt behind her.

"Howdy!" Billy-Ray Sanguine called out from his seat on the porch steps of the old Victorian house. "I've been waitin' a long time!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Fletcher sneered. "We came as fast as we could."

"Well that's good to hear then," the Texan replied. "How about we all head in nice and easy. Miss Nina Minx has been waitin' just as impatiently as me. Don't wanna keep her waitin' much longer, do we?" He stood up and motioned for everyone to follow him. Skulduggery went first, then Valkyrie, Ghastly, Tanith, and Fletcher bringing up the rear.

They wandered into the house, and Sanguine commanded for them to all wait. They all scowled as he bolted up the stairs. The house creaked and groaned with every step he took.

"Whatever anyone does, don't look up," Skulduggery mumbled.

Immediately, everyone looked up. On the ceiling was a dead and pale and rotting man. His legs and hands and arms had been bolted to the ceiling. Three nails pierced his chest and two nails were lodged into his eye sockets. His neck was sliced open, with X's across his cheeks and a small cross carved into his forehead. Beneath him on the floor was a giant puddle of blood.

"I told you not to look up!" Skulduggery roared, catching Valkyrie as she stumbled backwards. Fletcher held his stomach and turned around. Ghastly gulped and supported Tanith.

"Well when you tell someone not to look, they're going to look!" Tanith shouted. They all paused as they heard a light pitched cackle. Each of them looked up at the stair case, watching Nina Minx glide across the floorboards, tugging Maya behind her. Sanguine followed them.

"Like the decorations?" Nina Minx asked, gesturing to the walls. All around on all the walls were splatters of blood. Bones and pieces of skin were nailed to the walls. Clothes and eyeballs littered the floor. A disembodied hand laid limply on the stairs. "I worked hard to fix this place up," Nina Minx said again. "Sanguine helped me a bit. Speaking of Sanguine, take her." Nina Minx thrust Maya out to him and he grabbed her and held her hands behind her back. Maya's expression was pained as she stared at Valkyrie on the ground level.

"Well, is anyone wondering why I stole your Maya?" Nina Minx asked sweetly. She stood up on the banister and jumped down lightly and landed with a_ thump _on the floorboards.

"I figured it was a personal vendetta, for killing your family and all," Valkyrie said.

She nodded. "This is all true. But there was another reason. Any guesses?" Everyone remained silent. Nina Minx sighed. "Alright then, don't answer. But what I want is Maya's power."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Through a few simple rituals I learned about a years ago. I've been waiting for this moment my whole life. No one is going to ruin this for me." In a flash, Nina Minx and Sanguine jumped and ran at the group.

Sanguine charged towards the left side, while Nina Minx veered off towards the right. Fletcher, Tanith, and Valkyrie all tackled Nina Minx, while Ghastly and Skulduggery took control of Sanguine.

Valkyrie and Tanith lashed out their elbows at Nina Minx's sides, but she dodged out of the way, only to be kicked by Fletcher. She collapsed onto the ground, and all three placed their boots down on her chest.

"That was easy enough," Skulduggery announced as Ghastly hoisted a bloody faced Sanguine over his shoulder. "I'm a little disappointed. Usually we end everything in some huge climatic battle."

"Oh don't worry," Nina Minx said from her position on the floor, "there's more."

* * *

Good? Bad? Ugly? Pretty? Unsure?

Sorry for mistakes! :D


	19. Thriller

Lalalalala…Penultimate chapter guys! I've had the whole story done for a few days, but was sucking butt and wouldn't let me upload anything.  


* * *

"_Oh don't worry," Nina Minx said from her position on the floor, "there's more."_

And suddenly, the old rotting floorboards erupted. Splinters flew everywhere, catching everyone at some place. There were a few screams, and a loud _THUD_. The five heroes watched in horror as hands literally sprang up from the floor. The flesh was rotted and falling off at every movement, and it was a splotchy blue and green. Around fifteen sets of hands had burst up, and soon fifteen heads were joining the limbs.

"Zombies?" Valkyrie shrieked. Tanith, Fletcher, and herself were knocked off their feet as Nina Minx pushed them away and got up. She ran up to Skulduggery and – taking him by surprise – knocked him away forcefully. She stole Sanguine's body from Ghastly and set him down gently, then slapped his face vigorously. He hopped up, a wicked grin on his face, and his straight razor ready to go.

By now, heads had emerged, and torsos were beginning to pop up as well. Everyone shouted as the zombie people fully emerged.

"Aren't they beautiful, Maya?" Nina Minx screamed over the roars coming from the undead. "You helped create them!"

Maya shook her head from where she was bound by rope on the banister. "I only killed! You created monsters!"

"You created a monster out of me!" Nina Minx screamed back. "You murdered my family, and then left me with my sisters. You killed my parents. You kill everyone!" She shouted something in a foreign language, and immediately the zombies all snapped their heads up.

Sanguine and three zombies had taken on Skulduggery.

Four zombie creatures attacked Ghastly from all sides.

Tanith ripped her sword out and readied to get rid of the three creatures who had taken her.

Valkyrie summoned her shadows at the three who claimed her.

Fletcher put his hands up and scowled at the two remaining zombies.

Nina Minx had rushed up to the top of the stairs to admire the battle going on. She had gripped Maya's shoulders tightly, forcing her to watch the bloody battle carry on.

"I hope you're proud of your life," she said lowly into Maya's ear. "I'm proud of my work. Now, you'll be helping me become much more powerful. If I'm feeling nice, I'll bring back your friends from the dead. Though, the skeleton might have to stay dead. I don't know how much deader he can get." Maya quietly sobbed, staring at the five heroes struggle.

Skulduggery had whipped out his gun and was shooting zombies left and right. He blocked an attack from Sanguine just in time, and kicked his legs away. Sanguine went tumbling through a window. A zombie latched onto his arm and yanked hard. There was a loud popping sound as the shoulder bones came loose, and Skulduggery growled in pain. His hand whizzed through the air and it cut clean through the zombies flesh on his torso. A blue substance poured from the whole, but it immediately began healing itself. The blue liquid had stopped flowing and it formed at a small puddle on the floor. Skulduggery groaned and turned and swung his leg into the other two zombies legs. The calves on both creatures came clean off. Skulduggery cackled in triumph, but shouted when the legs instantly reformed on the bodies.

"This is impossible!" he shouted to the rest of them.

Ghastly grunted as he launched a zombie across the room. "They won't die!"

"This is just disgusting!" Fletcher called out as oozing and rotting flesh collecting on his knuckles as he punched the zombies over and over.

"Cutting off their heads doesn't work!" Tanith barked. "They grow them right back!"

Valkyrie shrieked as two zombies overcame her and flopped down onto her body. "Will you _please_ get off of me!" she screeched and pushed them away with her shadows. The tendrils sliced through their bodies. The same blue fluid trickled out of their wounds. Valkyrie shouted a swear as she was showered with the blue liquid.

"Anyone miss me?" Sanguine bellowed as he came waltzing in. "Having trouble with the zombies?" he asked Valkyrie as he sent his straight razor flying straight towards her face. She dodged it just in time. Valkyrie dug her gun from her pocket and fired a volley at Sanguine. One bullet caught his leg and another caught his arm.

"Will you just shut up!" she said to him. Valkyrie bolted away as a zombie came staggering after her.

"Hey!" Fletcher shouted over the battle. "Get rid of their flesh! That's the only way to kill them!" Everyone turned to look at the two zombies sway slowly. Their flesh was scattered around in little bits by Fletcher. Pieces were in his hair. "It's gross, but it works!" Everyone nodded and advanced at the creatures. Tanith threw a knife over at Ghastly as he quick skinned half of an arm. Tanith's sword slashed at the face skin, tearing it away in huge chunks. Skulduggery reached out his gloved hands and tore at the skin, then just threw fireball after fireball, roasting the skin. Valkyrie sent her shadows away from her body in points and quickly skinned a whole body.

"Thank you Fletcher!" she grinned and sliced off the heads for good measure. Everyone cheered, when suddenly a gun shot rang out. There was shriek and a thud. Valkyrie heard a groan from behind her. Sanguine got up and sprinted towards Nina Minx, who was holding a smoldering gun and a porcelain doll in her hands. She gave a salute as they both disappeared through the floor.

"Maya!" Tanith yelled, pointing at the blood dripping from the banister bars. Valkyrie and Skulduggery bolted up the old stairs. Valkyrie bent down to the saddened and almost still body of Maya.

"You'll be okay, you'll be fine," she said. "Just hang on for me, okay?"

Maya just shook her head. "Please don't try and save me…I've been wishing for my death for a while."

"Don't say that!" Valkyrie shouted at her. "No one wishes to die!"

"Only the miserable do. I explained all the terrible things in my life to you once before – you don't need to hear them again. You and Skulduggery know of the pain and death I saw in my life, and I hope you know you guys helped me out a lot. Suicide was close before I found you."

"Stop it!" Valkyrie said again. "Don't ever talk like that!"

"Valkyrie…" Skulduggery said soothingly. "I want to save her too, but we can't do anything."

"Yes we can!" she groaned half-heartedly. "Can't we get her into the car and take her back to Kenspeckle's?"

"She'll be long dead by then," Ghastly said sadly.

"You hated Maya! I don't want your opinion!" Valkyrie suddenly barked.

"Please stop shouting," Maya whispered. "I just want to die in peace. No one shouting, or crying, or trying to kill me further. Allow me this one wish."

Everyone was quiet.

"I never got much." Maya began wheezing. Her hand touched the bullet wound in her chest. "I never really wanted much. But I wanted someone I could really love, and have friends. My life was good before that man took me and changed me. Please, Valkyrie, never do anything terrible like that. Don't bestow a life upon someone they don't want. And be aware of Mary and Sanguine. They escaped, but there is the possibility of them returning. Be prepared for that time. No one will know that is.

"Valkyrie," she continued, her breathing going shallower, "promise me you'll stay with your skeleton and never leave him."

"Okay," Valkyrie nodded, "I promise."

"Good. Everyone, be happy now that no one of my kind will come to haunt your lives and kill your children or loved ones. You have all impacted my life greatly."

And those were the last words to come from Maya's mouth. Her body went lifeless and the purple tattoo on her cheek glowed a vibrant gold, and then faded into her skin.

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...):


	20. The End

Here it is! The very last chapter of this story! I'll leave my thanks at the end, but just letting you all know, I really appreciate your kind words. Thanks for being with me the whole way!

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Valkyrie Cain sat quietly picking at her splinter wounds. The fight with the zombie type creatures had left all of them mostly unscathed, except for the minor cuts and bruises. Her eyes lifted up to stare at the bloody body of her old dead friend Maya. A white sheet covered her face and body. Skulduggery had graciously placed her cloak by her bedside.

Valkyrie's eyes shifted across Kenspeckle's medical lab. She saw the Grand Mage talking with Ghastly and Mr. Bliss. Both men were nodding their heads. Cogent handed them both a paper and she quickly darted for the exit.

Valkyrie watched Fletcher and Misty from her perch on the bed. Misty was cleaning Fletcher's hands of the dead flesh. She smiled as Fletcher jokingly thrust his dirty hand at Misty, who squealed and swatted his hand away.

She watched Tanith and Kenspeckle. He was cleaning a few of her wounds, probably muttering about how he was a saint for saving them. Tanith was nodding her head and smiling lightly. Valkyrie watched her eyes trail across the room to Ghastly, who was talking to Bliss about what Valkyrie assumed was the escape of Sanguine and Nina Minx.

The cleavers and detectives had searched the whole of the Victorian house, searching for any clues as to where the two could have gone, but nothing was found.

Again, Valkyrie's eyes wandered over to Maya's body. Valkyrie assured herself that nothing could have been done, and that Maya had wanted to die. The more Valkyrie thought of this, the more logical it seemed. Maya had had a tough life. Why wouldn't she want to die? But Valkyrie herself had had a tough life. Did that mean that she should die as well?

But Valkyrie suddenly felt a cool hand touch her arm. Skulduggery Pleasant sat down next to her on the bed.

"Doing alright?" he asked.

Valkyrie shrugged. "I've been better."

"True, true," he said. "But you won't beat yourself up over this, right? Because none of us could have done anything."

"I know, I know. I'm just sad to see her go so fast."

He nodded in agreement. "It was unexpected, I'll admit. But with you and I around, no one knows what will happen next." He smiled warmly at her and pulled Valkyrie closer to him. She smiled back and curled into his hard body.

Valkyrie thought about her inner struggles. She realized that no matter how bad or miserable things got, she would not leave her friends behind.

Ever.

_~Fin~

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So, as my traditional end of story thanks, I just really appreciate you guys for being there with me, and continuing to give me great encouragement. Thank you everyone for leaving such kind reviews, for they really kept me motivated to write this!

:D


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